


Footwork

by herecomestheboom



Category: Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Bakugou Katsuki Swears A Lot, Except for when it is, Gen, Midoriya Izuku cries a lot, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, School isn't the best place for a hedgehog, Sonic is having the time of his life, except when he isn't
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-17
Updated: 2019-01-17
Packaged: 2019-02-15 22:35:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 17
Words: 104,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13040895
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/herecomestheboom/pseuds/herecomestheboom
Summary: Sonic is thrust into a brand new world of heroes and villains. He may think that the worst thing to happen to him is being forced into boring classes, but he doesn't know about the darkness hiding behind every corner, eyes watching his every move. He has to learn quickly that being a hero isn't all about fancy footwork.





	1. Chapter 1

When he started to regain consciousness, he realized that something was very wrong…a few things, actually.

One, his body felt unbelievably drained. Like, more drained than if he had decided to pull about twenty consecutive all-nighters.

Two, the fact that he had been knocked out in the first place. He tried to remember exactly what had happened to him, but all he remembered was a flash of bright white light. He had no idea what led up to or what came after that.

And three, he heard a high-pitched beeping that matched the pulse in his ears. If he wasn’t mistaken, he was in some kind of hospital. The antiseptic smell helped with that guess too. But…where though? Station Square? Central City? What _exactly_ had happened to him?

Bright emerald eyes struggled to open. It was like his eyelids weighed a ton, each. When he eventually pried them apart, his vision was blurry and unfocused. It was swimming a bit too, slightly swaying back and forth. Honestly, he had the thought to just go back asleep and try waking up again at a later time when he _wasn’t_ so groggy, but a voice instantly chased that thought away.

“Hello there, little one.”

He was surprised, but his body was too tired to properly react to it. Exhausted eyes blinked as they dropped to where the voice emitted from. He didn’t feel too in danger. It had sounded like an old lady, and they weren’t usually the ones trying to attack him.

Vision somewhat clearer, he managed to find her. It hadn’t that hard, for she was sitting right beside his – slightly uncomfortable, but that was the norm for hospitals – bed. She looked nice enough. Her round face, tied-up grey hair, and squinted eyes weren’t intimidating at all. Her lips were even curled in a soft smile.

Her tone was gentle and homey. He almost expected her to pull a tray of warm cookies out of nowhere. “You must be scared, hm? Being in an unfamiliar place and all.”

He barely had enough energy to furrow his brow, let alone feel frightened. Why would he be scared in a hospital anyway? Lips parted to speak, but his throat was so scratchy and dry that nothing came out more than a hoarse rasp.

“Oh, you must be thirsty.” She stood up from the stool she had been sitting on, and he was slightly amused that she was slightly – more like majorly – on the short side. He might be able to look a full-grown human in the eye for once.

He coughed and inwardly winced at the uncomfortable feeling it caused in his throat. He watched as she used a white cane to walk over to a sink across the room, which had more than one bed in it. They were empty. His attention drifted once the faucet was turned on, paying attention to the windows on adjacent wall.  

It was dark outside, so he had no idea if it was late at night or early in the morning. Buildings were lit up by streetlights, and the sidewalks were empty. The street didn’t look familiar to him, but then again, it _was_ nighttime. It was kinda hard to tell. Hopefully this nice lady could tell him where he was and how he got here.

“Here you go.” His head lethargically turned to see the woman standing at his bedside again. She was holding a glass of water. Her smile was still in place. “Just open your mouth, little one, and I’ll pour it in. Can you do that?”

It’s funny how she’s calling him ‘little one’. They looked basically the same height. He marginally shook his head at her, wanting to communicate that she’s done too much for him already. He could take a drink himself…hopefully. If not, well, there would be shattered glass and spilled water all over the floor. Not too much of a risk.

He moved his hand to take the cup from her, but it stopped short. Something was restraining his wrist. Blinking in confusion, he glanced down for the first time to see that his gloveless hand was handcuffed to the side of the bed. _Both_ of his hands. Breath hitching in his throat and the high-pitched beeping getting louder, he figured that he _might’ve_ had the wrong impression of this old lady.

The small chains rattled as his muscles sluggishly struggled against them, but he was nowhere at his full power. Just _great._ Who was she working for? Eggman? The more corrupt side of GUN? Or was she just a super crazy fan? He didn’t know which outcome was the worst.

“There’s no need to struggle, little one.” There was a gentle hand on his shoulder, and he looked her in the eye. Her expression hadn’t changed. The water was now sitting forgotten on the stand by the bed. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

Well, the handcuffs would beg to differ. His hands were clenched into fists now, and his wrists were beginning to throb from the abuse. He attempted to speak again; his voice was too weak.

The woman then placed a wrinkled hand on top of his left. “I will uncuff you if and only if you don’t attack me.”

Attack her? Attack _her?_ Why in the world would he do that? _He_ was the one forcefully kept on a hospital bed! And plus, he was Sonic the hedgehog! When had he ever hurt a civilian in his life? Why was she scared of him?

Sonic was completely unsure of this situation, but he would feel a _lot_ better about it freed. And he had to convince her that he wasn’t going to randomly throw a punch.

The hedgehog relaxed, his hands falling limp to the mattress below. He schooled his expression to be as innocent as possible while watching her every move.

Her smile never shook. “It’s good that you calmed down. I never like seeing a patient in distress.” She grabbed a key out of the pocket of her robe and undid the cuffs. Sonic rubbed his wrists before sitting up in the bed, arms subtly shaking from the strain. Why in the world was he so tired? Did she do something to him? “I’m glad you’re docile. I didn’t want to see you in pain again.”

A frown marred his muzzle at that. Again? Meaning that she had seen him hurt a first time.

“So, I assume that you can perfectly understand me?”

Sonic tilted his head at her before nodding. Why wouldn’t he understand her? This was just too weird. He needed info as soon as possible to get rid of his confusion.

“Let me ask you this then. Why were you bleeding and broken in the middle of the street, little one?”

Sonic’s eyes widened. Bleeding and broken…? What…?

He swallowed thickly and nearly flinched at the roughness that followed. He reached for the glass of water and gulped it, instantly feeling better. When he finished, he wished that he had more, but that wasn’t top priority right now.

The hedgehog coughed to clear his throat of any residual roughness. His voice came out raspier than normal anyway. “Bleeding and broken? I don’t…”

This was the first time that her smile had slipped. It was subtle, but he had noticed. “You can talk?”

She had no reason to be so surprised. Of _course_ he could talk! “Yeah?”

The lady stared at him in shock for a moment before regathering herself. “It’s just…very rare for an animal to talk. That must be a quirk. You’re just like him.”

“A…quirk?” How was talking a quirk? His love for chili dogs was a quirk, not performing the everyday task of _talking._ “Uh…I dunno what you’re talkin’ about, but…” And didn’t she say that speaking animals were rare? What, had she been living under a rock her whole life? “I’m pretty sure that there are more guys like me who can talk…”

“Guys like you?” The old lady hummed before continuing, “Interesting… What does the word ‘Nomu’ mean to you?”

This was getting weirder by the moment. She had to be going senile. “Are you making up words? Because I’ve never heard that in my life.”

“That’s reassuring,” she said, her smile growing again. Then she turned her back to him and headed to the door across the room. “Stay right there for a second, would you?” Sonic ears promptly perked when she whispered to herself, “It makes sense since he isn’t braindead, but that just rises more questions…”

Sonic opened his mouth to reply to those words, but then he realized that he probably wasn’t supposed to hear that. He simply watched as she opened the door and closed it behind herself.

He didn’t waste a second.

Sonic started by gingerly yanking out whatever wires that were hooked up to him, then he threw the sickeningly white blankets off his body. He swung his legs over the side and hopped down to the ground. However, instead of standing like he had planned to, as soon as his bare feet touched the tiled floor, his knees buckled. He swallowed his surprised yell as he slammed into the smooth tile beneath him.

Yeah…he had totally forgotten that his body was basically in sleep mode.

Sonic lowly hissed as he rubbed his nose, for that was the first thing that made impact. His arms trembled as he lifted his upper body off the ground, knowing for sure that this wasn’t natural recovery. The old lady _had_ to have done something to him. Probably some kind of sedative.

Gritting his teeth, he fought to control his body, twisting around and grabbing the rail of the bed. He panted as he slowly but surely pulled himself up, his legs – which had gained the characteristics of noodles – eventually positioning themselves under him.

He was almost standing when the door creaked back open.

Just his luck.

“What did I tell you? Your body wasn’t ready yet. You need more rest!”

Sonic glanced over his shoulder at the short lady, ready to retort, but then his mouth hung open when he saw the _huge_ muscular man entering behind her. His head almost reached the ceiling! The buff human was wearing a skin-tight body suit, his smile almost split his face in half, and _speaking_ of his face, it was so unrealistically shaded. Sonic had to be dreaming, right? That was the answer, because no _human_ could possibly…

“You shouldn’t push your body, young man!” The voice of the man boomed, echoing around the room. Before Sonic scrape his chin off the ground, the blonde male jogged over to him and effortlessly lifted him up. Sonic was suddenly sitting on the bed again. “You have to be exhausted!”

Getting over the initial shock of the presence of the towering man, Sonic glanced between him and the old lady. “Push my body? I wouldn’t have to if you hadn’t put sedatives in me!”

The large human blinked before laughing heartily. “There are no sedatives in your system, my boy! What you’re feeling is the side-effects of Recovery Girl’s quirk!”

There was that word again. What in the heck was a quirk? And ‘Recovery Girl’? Was that the old woman? Ironic…

Recovery Girl then spoke up, basically a dwarf beside the tall man. “With my quick, I can heal any wounds, but it uses the patient’s natural stamina. You had grave injuries, so your energy is very low now.”

Sonic could only stare at her. So what he got from that was that a ‘quirk’ was another word for ‘ability’. She could heal people. That wouldn’t be so surprising if she wasn’t human. His buddy Shadow could – and him too to a degree – heal using a Chaos emerald, but now he just met a woman who could do it without one? This was insane.

Emerald eyes then slid over to the huge man, eying the rippling muscles and large stature. “I’m guessing that you have a…quirk too?”

“Right you are!” The male flexed his already bulging muscles. “I am All Might! My strength is incomparable!”

Sonic just shook his head, this sinking in. Did _all_ humans have powers? Since when? Why wasn’t he told this? He’d get to the bottom of that later though. Right now, he needed to go home and sleep in his highly comfortable bed.

“Thanks for…healing me, I guess,” Sonic said to the old lady. “And I’d love to uh…talk more, but I’d also love to go home.”

“Where is your home?” That was a new voice. It was soft like the woman’s, but it definitely belonged to a guy. Sonic’s gaze traveled until he found however spoke. Some tension rolled off his shoulders at the sight of a clothed species of rodent standing beside All Might. His beady eyes were welcoming. “But before you answer that, I’d like to introduce myself. My name is Nezu, and I’m the principal of U.A High, where we are right now.” A white-furred paw was held up to the hedgehog. “What’s your name?”

Sonic glanced around the place, learning that he had been wrong. He was in a high school, not a hospital. U.A High? He’d never heard of it. Sonic shook the outstretched hand with a small upward twitch of his lips. “I’m Sonic. Sonic the hedgehog.”

“Sonic? That’s a very interesting name!” Nezu smiled at him, pulling his paw back. “Now, where do you live? Perhaps you’d rest easier there.”

Sonic was glad that at least one person was trying to help him out here. “I live near Station Square. Know where that is?”

Nezu tilted his head a bit before shaking his head. “I can’t say that I do.” He glanced at the two humans. “All Might? Recovery Girl? Do you two know where that might be located?”

“Hm.” Recovery Girl had a pensive expression on her face. “It doesn’t ring a bell. It doesn’t sound like the city would be in Japan though.”

All Might tapped his chin with his meaty fingers. “Maybe it’s somewhere in the United States?”

Sonic stiffened at those names he’d never heard of. Japan? The United States? Where in the world _was_ he? The only thing he remembered was a white light… He sucked in a harsh breath. Was that white light Chaos Control? Was he even in _his_ world anymore?

Sonic groaned, holding his head in his hands. That would explain everything: the lady not knowing him, the ‘quirks’, not knowing any of the places they had listed. So he was most likely Chaos Controlled…did that mean he was stuck here? Oh _Chaos…_

The hedgehog jolted when a heavy hand patted his shoulder. He lifted his head to see All Might peering down at him. His smile wasn’t as wide. “Are you alright, my boy?”

“Just peachy.” Sonic sighed, wondering if he should tell them his discovery. Might as well. Maybe someone they knew had a ‘quirk’ to take him home. He glanced at all of them before lingering on Nezu. “I’m not from this world. I…got warped here.”

Recovery Girl raised a brow. “Not from this world?”

“Warped?” All Might shared a look with the principle. “What do you mean?”

Sonic was so gonna slug Shadow for this. “One of my buddies has an abil – _quirk_ – to teleport. I guess he used it on me and something went totally wrong.”

Nezu frowned a bit. “Your friend…is he like you?”

“Yep. He’s a black and red hedgehog.” Emerald orbs focused on the lady. “Where I come from, humans don’t have any powers. So sorry for accusin’ you of drugging me.”

“It was a rational assumption. You’re forgiven.” Recovery Girl smiled warmly at him. “So what you’ve told us, I can assume that…you’ve been stranded here?”

Sonic nodded. “Pretty much. I’m kinda hopin’ that you know someone who could warp me back home?”

There was a pregnant pause, and he wondered if he had said something wrong.

“…We do know someone with that quirk.” Sonic perked up at All Might’s words. “But, the one who has it is a villain! Someone who cannot be trusted!”

Sonic blinked. “A villain?” The hedgehog grinned for the first time since waking up. “That’s right down my alley! I can rough them up and make ‘em help!”

His energy didn’t spread to the trio however. Nezu deeply sighed. “I know that you think you can do that, but you can’t for multiple reasons. We don’t know where the villain currently is residing, he has other strong people working with him, and it is a law that you must become a hero to legally fight against them.”

Sonic wasn’t fazed by that. “With me helping, he should be easy to find _and_ take down. And with the third thing, I _am_ a hero in my home world! So I can-”

“I’m not saying that you’re lying, Sonic. But we have no proof of that.” Nezu interrupted him, bringing down his high. “And even if there was, I doubt…an otherworldly license would be approved here.”

“Are you serious?” Sonic couldn’t believe this. He couldn’t do what he did best because of some stupid rule? “Then just let me get the license or whatever! What do I have to do? Take a test?”

He didn’t like the look on Nezu’s face. “If only it were that simple, Sonic. For a child to become a hero, they have to enroll in a school like U.A high and be put into a hero course.”

“You gotta be kidding me…” Sonic muttered. That was going to take so long! Also, him and education didn’t exactly mix well. “Is that my only option? _Please_ tell me it isn’t!”

All he got were sympathetic looks.

“It isn’t so bad, young Sonic!” All Might tried to reassure him, his smile almost blinding. “I am one of the teachers here, and I can say that it is a very fun and engaging experience!”

Sonic wondered exactly what he had done to deserve this. School meant writing and history and science and _math._ He was doomed.

Accepting his fate, Sonic asked, “So…am I gonna be enrolled here?”

Nezu’s tail subtly lowered. “I would, but we don’t have the room…”

The old lady turned to him. “It won’t be a permanent enrollment. Room could be made somewhere.”

“Aizawa wouldn’t mind an extra student!” All Might proclaimed.

Nezu was amused. “You know he will, but he doesn’t exactly have a say in the matter.” The principal nodded to himself as he regarded Sonic. “You will be a temporary foreign exchange student in Class 1-A. However, before I formally put you in. What is your quirk?”

Sonic shrugged. “I guess it’s super speed.”

Nezu paused for a split second before nodding again. “That would explain your shoes.” He bobbed his head over to the opposite wall, where Sonic’s red shoes had been placed. “Extra traction.”

“Yeah, and it stops me from burning the bottom of my feet off.” Sonic chuckled.

“You must run extremely fast, like young Iida!” All Might exclaimed.

Looked like Sonic already had competition.

Nezu reached up and patted the side of the hedgehog’s leg. “And lucky for you, the first thing you’ll be doing in class won’t be pencil-on-paper work. There is a sport’s festival tomorrow that tests the physical requirements for the course. I’m sure that you prefer that.”

A relieved smile grew on Sonic’s muzzle. “Heck yeah. And it’s tomorrow?” He glanced out of the window again. “Will I be uh…better by tomorrow?”

Recovery Girl nodded. “Yes you will. All you have to do is _stay_ in bed and sleep. You’ll be back at a hundred percent in the morning before it starts. You won’t have much time to bond with your classmates beforehand, but I’m sure you’ll get to during and after.” Sonic nodded, glad that this school thing wasn’t going to start off terribly. “Now…” The lady gestured to All Might. “Help Sonic stand up.”

Sonic pursed his lips. “I thought you wanted me to rest?”

“You will after we get your measurements.”

“Measuremen-” Sonic’s eyes went wide as he focused on Nezu’s clothing. “Yeah, no. I’m perfectly fine with my shoes and gloves.” Sonic the hedgehog didn’t do shirts and pants, _especially_ not pants. Too constricting.  

The woman wasn’t budging. “We can’t allow you to walk around here in the nude. I know that you might not be used to clothes, but there would be an uproar.”

Sonic was _seriously_ going to get Shadow back for this.

* * *

 

“I hope that we did the right thing.”

“You aren’t alone there, All Might.”

“Do you think that he was telling the truth?”

“I don’t know, but it’s clear that _he_ thinks that he is. Letting him join in with the students here is ironically the best way to keep an eye on him.”

“I just hope that he is genuinely confused with no hidden ill-content. The students don’t need that especially after what happened at the USJ.”

“Right. Everyone needs to destress and the sport’s festival is the perfect way to do that. However, speaking of the USJ, the warping he mentioned. Could he possibly have a connection with the League of Villains?”

"Well...he does apparently have two quirks, and the only being that has had two of them-"

"Was the Nomu. Right...however, he doesn't have the characteristics of a Nomu."

"We've only seen one of them, Nezu, so we don't exactly know what the characteristics are."

"...I know. I'm trying to look at the positives here. There could be a chance that he is just an anomaly, that he was tested on like I was..."

“It’s possible, but...I don't want the students to be in that kind of danger again before they are properly prepared.”

"Me neither. Like I said before however, keeping him close is the best option. Studying without oppressing him and causing a reaction."

"I don't like it, but I understand."

"I'm sorry, but we just have to tread lightly and stay vigilant. We definitely don't need any more chaos around here."

“You can say that again.”

“On that note, I’m going back home to catch some shut-eye before the festival.”

“I’ll be following in your footsteps after Recovery Girl gets him to sleep. Goodnight, Nezu.”

“Sleep tight.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Sonic gets a little taste of Class 1-A.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to chapter two! But before you go on, I made some edits to the All Might/Nezu conversation last chapter to include Sonic technically having two quirks in their eyes.
> 
> Other than that, I have nothing to say. Read on!

"How does it fit?"

Sonic's nose scrunched in distaste as he pulled at the fabric hugging his body. It wasn't that the blue uniform was uncomfortable – the material was soft and breathable, and there was even a little hole in the back for his tail – it was that he wasn't used to it. If these clothes hindered his running at all, they were coming right off. The school would just have to deal with it.

The hedgehog sighed as he dropped the gloved hand playing with the zipper on the front. He sent the observing Recovery Girl a pleading look. He only had to lift his chin up a bit to make eye contact. "Are you sure that they won't make me an exception? Clothes seriously aren't my thing."

Unfortunately, the old lady wasn't budging. "If the principal of this highly regarded high school has to wear clothing, I'm sure you do too." She then gestured at his outfit with her cane that he just realized looked like a giant syringe. Weird. "You should be appreciative that I ordered it so it had virtually no sleeves and short pant legs. Uniforms vary slightly according to one's quirk, and in your case, personal preference."

Sonic  _guessed_  that he could be thankful. The thought of wearing full-length pants made him shudder. "Thanks for this… It's just gonna take a while to get used to, y'know?"

She nodded with a soft smile, seemingly not offended at all. "I understand."

The hedgehog then let his gaze drift to his hospital-but-not-hospital bed, a tray formally carrying various fruits sitting at the end of it. Sonic patted his full stomach as he gave the woman a smile of his own. "And thanks again for takin' care of me last night. Really appreciate it." He felt great now, so she hadn't lied about him feeling better in the morning.

All because of her quirk…huh. His stay in this world was going to get real interesting, wasn't it?

"No need to thank me, dear," Recovery Girl said humbly. "Healing others is what I do. It's routine at this point."

Sonic titled his head, thoughts putting together the puzzle pieces. "So, I'm assuming that you're the nurse here or something?"

The old lady quietly laughed. "What gave it away?"

The hedgehog shrugged, in a way better mood now that he wasn't tired, confused, and did he mention tired? "It was a lucky guess!" He grinned, tone light and bright.

Recovery Girl had a fond expression on her face. "You'll fit in nicely here."

"That's great to hear!" Sonic happily chirped. Especially because of what he was going to participate in pretty soon. The hedgehog spun on his heel and approached the window that had previously shown a dark and empty street. Now, it displayed a scene filled with color and excitement.

There were hordes of vendors lining the populated street, loud citizens enjoying themselves as they mingled up and down the road. People had been outside ever since Sonic had woken up about an hour ago, and the 'hog didn't get tired of staring at them.

If he hadn't known beforehand that he was in a different world, he sure would've figured it out looking at the people of this place. The humans came in so many shapes, sizes, and colors – no doubt correlating to whatever power they had – and it was a real eye opener. He had even seen some people with animal characteristics…it was crazy! The good kind of crazy. The 'never would get boring' kind.

Yeah, Sonic would like to get back home, but he wouldn't mind having some fun here first.

…even if it meant going to school.

Recovery Girl stepped up to his side, peering out of the glass as well. "Vastly different from where you come from, hm?"

"Oh yeah." Sonic leaned forward, pressing the palm of his hand on the window. He smirked. "I can't wait to see what they've got!"

The woman hummed pensively. Before Sonic could question it, his ears twitched at the erratic knocking that echoed around the room.

"Oh, that must be your teacher." The lady turned and shuffled over to the door.

Sonic shifted his attention from the window to the source of the knocking. "My teacher?"

Recovery Girl nodded. "Mmhm. He was informed about your situation. He wants to meet you and take you to the Class 1-A waiting room. It won't be long now until the festival begins."

Sonic shadowed the other, now very curious about his teacher. What did All Might say his name was? He totally forgot. He couldn't wait to find out about the guy's quirk.

However, Sonic's bubbling anticipation was squashed with heavy confusion when Recovery Girl opened the door. There was a man standing there with long black hair. He had a strange banded scarf around his neck, but that wasn't what made Sonic pause. There were white bandages  _covering_  the guy's face and arms, some holding the latter close to his body.

All the hedgehog could do was slowly blink.

Recovery Girl, apparently not fazed, smiled up at the newcomer. "Good morning, Aizawa."

"Morning." The teacher drawled, voice muffled and tired sounding. He then faced Sonic; the hedgehog had  _no_  idea of the man was actually looking at him. "This is the new student?" Yeah, Aizawa was definitely staring at him because he felt hidden eyes giving him a once-over.

"Yes he is," the nurse answered. "Aizawa, this is Sonic, and Sonic, this is your teacher, Mr. Aizawa."

The hedgehog raised a hand in greeting, smiling. "Heya teach! I appreciate you lettin' me in your class!"

"I didn't really have a choice in the matter," he answered in monotone. "You do realize that the curriculum isn't going to go easy on you just because of your situation." The teacher sighed. "And it's Mr. Aizawa to you."

Sonic rubbed the back of his neck, inwardly wincing. Of course he would get a stickler for a teacher. "Right…and I know that I won't be an exception here. Recovery Girl already drilled that in me." He then perked up, his curiously itching to be sated. "So…" Sonic gestured to  _whatever_  Aizawa had going on. "Is that your quirk? Are you a mummy or somethin'?"

The old lady softly chuckled, and the teacher mumbled, "You're one of those students, huh?" Sonic wondered what that meant. Aizawa then said louder, "No. These bandages aren't for my quirk."

Sonic's eyes widened a bit. So were they…healing bandages then? Was he hurt? "Oh…what are they for then?"

"It's a long story we don't have time for." Aizawa shifted his weight away from the door. "I have to get you to the 1-A waiting room. We're short on time." He nodded a farewell to Recovery Girl before walking away, not even checking behind to see if Sonic was following.

"…Alright." Wow, this guy didn't play around. "Guess I'm goin'!" Sonic trailed after Aizawa, mock-saluting the greying woman. "See ya later, Mrs. RG!"

She genially waved. "Hopefully not too soon, dear. Good luck at the festival."

Sonic gave her a thumbs up before jogging a bit to close the distance between him and his grouch of a teacher. The hedgehog glanced around the hallway they were in, seeing school-themed posters hanging up. He and Aizawa were the only ones walking, shoes thudding against the floor.

When a silence settled over them, Sonic learned that his teacher wasn't exactly the type to spark up a conversation. So, he took the initiative. "Okay, Mr. A, if-"

"Mr. Aizawa."

Couldn't he just loosen up a  _little_  bit? Jeez. Sonic released an apologetic grin, taking his eyes off the new environment and settling them on the man. "Sorry bout that. But uh, if your quirk doesn't involve being a mummy, then what is it?"

"My quirk can temporarily erase other quirks."

Ignoring the fact that Aizawa sounded like he was talking about the weather – seriously, what was with him? This was  _exciting_  – Sonic perked up. "Really? You can take anyone's power away? Any power?" That had to be powerful! He imagined Recovery Girl's healing being taken away. That would be messed up, but against villains…

"Not any quirk." Aizawa corrected as they rounded a corner. There were a couple of kids in uniforms like him wandering around. "For example, if someone was born invisible, I can't make them visible. It doesn't affect mutant quirks."

Sonic didn't really understand that last part, but it was clear that the teacher's quirk had a limit. "It's still pretty cool though. The villain won't be able to fight back, and-" Sonic snapped his fingers. "-the fight's over, just like that!" If Sonic had that ability, he'd make a lot of his friends mad, but  _man_  would it be funny.

The blue speedster waved briefly at the attention he received from the mingling students. They were eying him as they passed, probably checking out the competition. A bit of surprise colored their expressions too. Apparently, Sonic still marginally stood out amongst this quirk-filled world.

Aizawa didn't say anything until those students were far behind them. "If asked, you're a human with hedgehog traits."

Sonic furrowed his brow. That came out of nowhere. "Why? I'm not-"

"Because that's easier to explain than having two quirks."

The teacher's tone darkened somewhat, and a frown marred Sonic's muzzle. "Two things. Super speed's my only quirk, and why is having two quirks hard to explain? Can't people have more than one power?"

"No. They can't." The hedgehog could tell that Aizawa was talking about something personal; those words seemed heavy. "Your speed isn't your only quirk. You  _are_  an animal, right?" Sonic nodded. "The only reason the principal can talk is because he has a quirk that allows him to have the intelligence of a human. You can talk  _and_  have speed. Two quirks."

Sonic scratched his cheek, wrapping his mind around what was said. "But I'm not  _from_  here though. So that doesn't apply to me!"

The teacher stared at him for a good long while as they walked before looking ahead. "Whether it does or doesn't, don't mention it. You're human. Avoid unnecessary drama."

Sonic didn't like lying to people, but it made sense not to cause any confusion or uproars. He reluctantly gave in. "Alright. No spillin' the beans. I got ya, teach."

Aizawa simply sighed, and the hedgie stifled a chuckle.

They were quiet for a while, passing more curious students, until another question popped to Sonic's mind. "What kind of sports are we gonna be playing? Baseball? Soccer? Golf?" Hopefully the latter wasn't included.

"There won't be actual sports here." Sonic could hear the exasperation in the other's voice. "The events are more like games and challenges to win."

Oh yeah, this was  _definitely_ going to be fun. "Cool! Can you give me a little hint to what they are?"

Aizawa was unamused. "The events are random, and if I knew anyway, I wouldn't give you any leg up on my other students."

"No cheating. I can respect that!" Sonic snickered, knowing that the human wouldn't have told him. It didn't hurt to try though. He then focused on a closed door to the right they were approaching. Sonic read the nearby sign. "'Class 1-B waiting room'. That means we're almost to 1-A's, right?"

The teacher's head barely moved. It had to be a nod. "Right. It's the next door down."

The pair kept moving, disregarding 1-B's door. Sonic couldn't help but to smile a bit. Who knew what kind of abilities his classmates might have?

It wasn't long until he spotted an open doorway up ahead. After making sure that the sign read 'Class 1-A', Sonic was one second from zipping in there. However, unfamiliar voices kept him by Aizawa's side.

"We're  _all_  gonna have to fight to stand out…and I'll be aiming for the top too."

There was a pregnant pause, then, "Fine."

While Sonic didn't know what to make of that, Aizawa seemed to understand perfectly as he took the lead. "It looks like they were going at it. I'm not surprised."

The hedgie was on the other's heels. Was the class fighting or something?

Aizawa positioned himself in the open doorway, and Sonic stood behind him, peering around the man's body. The room he was gazing into didn't have any signs of a struggle, but honestly, that was the last thing on his mind right now.

His classmates were just a scaled down version of the citizens outside. Most of them looked normal, but then there were multiple of them that stood out. For example, the boy closest to the duo had  _engines_  in his  _legs._  That had to be the other speedster All Might mentioned, but Sonic couldn't remember his name to save his life.

"Class." Aizawa rose his voice to address the students.

All attention turned to the mummied man. "Mr. Aizawa!" His name was echoed around the room.

"What are you doing here?" a girl with pink skin and horns asked. "I thought you were supposed to be in the commentator box!"

"I am, unfortunately," the teacher said. "I'm going to make this fast because I have to unfortunately meet up with Present Mic." He exhaled deeply. "We have a new student in our class, and he'll be joining you for the sports festival."

The class as a whole was shocked. "What?!"

"Are you serious?" a spikey red-head added, partially gaping.

"As a heart attack." Aizawa stepped to the side, allowing Sonic to be in full sight of the students. The azure hedgie smiled at the widened eyes. The teacher took a half-step out of the room. "I have to go now, so play nice and introduce yourselves. Also, don't forget that you have to be on the field in a few minutes."

With those words, Aizawa walked off.

Sonic watched as the teacher disappeared before facing the astonished faces and waving. "Yo!"

"Hello!" The boy with the engines came up to him. His glasses reflected the light above. The guy gestured to himself. "I'm Tenya Iida, president of class 1-A!" He then held out a hand to shake. "Pleased to meet you!"

Sonic was going to make sure he remembered his name from now on. He reached up and shook hands with the other, grinning. "Back at ya! The name's Sonic!"

"Sonic?" Another student approached as the hedgehog let go. It was a blonde boy with a black streak in his hair. "You already choose a hero name?" As an afterthought, he added, "I'm Denki Kaminari, by the way!"

Sonic furrowed his brow at him. "Uh…no?" What in the world was a hero name? A nickname? "That's my real one."

"Forget about his name!" Another boy with purple balls on his head laughed as he ran over to Sonic. He was only a bit taller than the hedgehog. He was quickly comparing their heights. "I'm not the shortest in the class anymore! Ha ha!"

"Speaking of physical attributes…" A guy with unruly green hair examined him as he walked up, speaking softly. "You're kinda like Principal Nezu…"

A girl sitting at a table with her black hair pinned up studied him as well. "So is that your quirk? Being a talking animal?"

"That can't be it!" The same red-head from before reasoned. "Because he wouldn't be put in the hero course with that lame quirk!" He paused before sheepishly smiling. "No offense, dude."

Before Sonic could dismiss that statement, a guy with odd looking elbows spoke up. "What if he's related to the principal? He could be playing favorites!"

Sonic wanted to stop that right there before they started to hate him. "I'm  _definitely_  not related to the principal. One, because I'm human with some hedgehog traits-" Way more than some. "-and two, my quirk is  _much_  flashier than talking."

His cocky smirk peaked multiple interests.

"So you're like Tokoyami…" Sonic didn't know who green-hair was referring to, but he had a good guess that it was bird-head. "What is your quirk then, Sonic?"

Sonic opened his mouth, but someone cut him off. "Who cares what his damn quirk is?" A chair scraped against the ground, and an ashy blonde kid stood up. His angry red eyes were glaring at Sonic. "He looks as intimidating as fucking roadkill."

Sonic's lips twitched downwards. Roadkill? What the heck? What was this guy's problem? Besides needing soap for his mouth.

"Bakugo-" The red-head tried to begin, but Bakugo wasn't having it.

"Shut  _up_." The blonde shoved his hands in his pockets and marched right over to Sonic, glaring down at him. Sonic didn't finch though, used to those kinds of looks from a particular black hedgehog. Bakugo narrowed his eyes even more. "Go back to whatever hole you crawled out of because  _I'm_  going to win the sports festival, and  _no one's_  going to get in my way."

Those heated red eyes drifted off the hedgie and focused on a boy with red and white hair. Bakugo scoffed before moving forward, clipping Sonic's shoulder as he did so. "Stop standing around, you idiots. You heard what the teacher said. Get your asses in gear." He left the room.

After Sonic regained his balance – that was a hard hit – the soft speaker addressed him. "Sorry about Kacchan!" Kacchan? Was that the jerk's name? Or was it Bakugo? Sonic was going to call him Kacchan because it sounded like it would tick him off. "He's uh…always been like this."

Sonic waved him off. "No need to apologize! People like him rile me up. Gotta knock him down a few pegs, yeah?"

"Easier said than done." Sonic forgot the darker blonde's name already. The only thing his mind provided was calamari, and that  _couldn't_  be it. "But I like your spunk, new kid!"

"So back to the before question…" Iida leaned down, stroking his chin. "What  _is_  your quirk, Sonic?"

The hedgehog smirked. "Can't ruin the surprise, now can I?" He was all for showing off his speed, but this was more fun. Especially since he hadn't seen Iida's engines in action yet.

Iida stood straight, nodding. "I suppose that's fair. You don't know ours yet, so in turn, we can't know yours until the festival starts." He turned toward the other students. "We shouldn't dally then! Let's all go to arena and show off our skills! Remember, pro-heroes are watching!"

Iida was the first to exit the room. Sonic filtered out with the rest of the teens. He ended up walking by Cala – no, uh… _Kaminari!_  That's it! "What did he mean about pro-heroes watching?"

Kaminari quirked an eyebrow. "What, are you not from around here or something? Everyone knows about pro-heroes potentially scouting us!"

"Obviously  _he_  doesn't, man!" The spikey red-head interjected. He smiled down at Sonic; it was bright, inviting, and surprisingly filled with sharp teeth. "I'm Kirishima, and well, licensed heroes from all around come and watch the festival. It's one of the best times to get noticed by the higher ups!"

Kaminari linked his hands behind his head, smirking. "And we get to show the world how awesome our quirks are."

Sonic wanted to know what everyone could do as soon as possible. He couldn't  _wait_ to get outside. "So goin' for style points is best, huh?"

The blonde snickered. "You got it!"

Kirishima – Sonic was getting better at this name thing – scoffed. "There's no point in going for style if you don't win!"

Kaminari pursed his lips. "Yeah, that's important too."

Sonic could barely control his excitement.

* * *

He could figure out when they neared the field, for the class quieted down and grew more tense. Also, another hint was the roar of cheers that constantly grew louder.

Sonic was nowhere near anxious. He was the completely opposite, ready to get the show on the road.

They all turned a corner and was suddenly in a medium-sized tunnel with bright light filtering in from the outside at the end. Blue ears perked at the sound of an announcer's booming voice.

"Let me hear you scream as our students make their way to the big stage!"

Sonic squinted at the harsh sunlight as the roaring grew louder. "Whoa…" he breathed out as he stepped onto artificial grass, seeing how many people were packed into the giant stadium surrounding them. He lowly whistled. That was an impressive number of eyes watching.

An adult was on numerous televisions hanging around. His tall hair and large smile were equally as noticeable. "This first group is no strangers to the spotlight! You know them from withstanding a villain attack!"

Only one? Sonic's got at least a hundred under his belt by now.

"The dazzling students light up their TVs with solid gold skills! The hero course students of Class 1-A!"

Sonic chuckled as they continued walking, simply following the student in front of him because he had no idea where they were supposed to go. "You guys are pretty popular!" he said to green-hair, who looked more than nervous.

He was glancing around at all the people, breaking out into a cold sweat and audibly gulping. "Y-You could say that, yeah…"

Sonic was about to tell the other to calm down before he passed out or something, but the announcer's next words caught his attention. "Oh? Look at this! It seems like a new student's been mixed up in the class of potential heroes!" Sonic turned his head until he found the commentator box high up in the stands. The announcer was there, and Aizawa was sitting right next to him. "And I've just been told that he's joined today! Recommended by Principal Nezu and All Might themselves!"

There was more cheering as green-hair quickly faced him. "All Might…?"

Kirishima, who was up ahead, peered over his shoulder. Like the rest of the class, he was once again shocked. " _Both_  of them? How good  _are_  you, dude?"

Bakugo threw the hedgehog an ugly look over his shoulder.

Sonic wasn't fazed. He was soaking all of this attention up. "No better than the rest of you!" He wasn't going to boast too much, though. And why was All Might so important anyway? He understood the principal, but why the buffy guy?

" _We_  didn't get recommended by the number one hero." The voice came from the boy with red and white hair. He was looking at Sonic out of the corner of his eye, lips thinned.

Sonic made an 'o' shape with his mouth.  _That's_  why.

The announcer rambled on. "Let's make sure to keep an eye on him! Next, they haven't had nearly as much screen time, but this group is still chock full of talent! Welcome hero course Class 1-B!"

The azure speedster peered to his left, noticing another class of students emerging from a separate tunnel. 1-B was a second hero course? Even more quirks to complete against? Today was Sonic's lucky day.

The area became even more populated when students from general studies, support classes, and business classes were announced.

They all gathered on one side of the field, in front of a podium. Sonic subtly frowned at the rather… _showy_  woman standing on top of it. Her clothes were so tight that she might as well not have taken the time to put them on at all. Sonic didn't care much about appearances, but sheesh.

Sonic was caught off guard when the shorty in his class gave the woman a fierce thumbs up.

She rose a hand and spoke, a mic amplifying her voice. "Now, the introductory speech! For the student pledge, we have…Katsuki Bakugo!"

Bakugo? Emerald eyes followed the boy as he separated from the crowd with a blank face, making his way toward the podium.

Green-hair was even more anxious than earlier. "H-He's the first year rep?"

Weird elbows answered him. "I guess that hothead  _did_  finish first in the entrance test…"

Sonic figured that he had missed  _a lot_  of important stuff before his admittance. They had to take an entrance test? He didn't… But more surprisingly, Bakugo got the best grade? Sonic guessed intelligence didn't correspond with being a decent human being, but still…

A girl from a general studies class sighed in exasperation. "Only for the hero course exams."

Green-hair and weird elbows cringed while Kaminari pouted. "We've got Bakugo to thank for them not liking our class."

With this new news, Sonic figured that this upcoming speech was going to be real interesting.

Bakugo stepped up to the standing microphone. "I just want to say…I'm gonna win."

Sonic nearly jumped when the students cried out in anger, booing him. The hedgie just put a hand on his hip, watching as Iida aimed some odd hand gestures at the offending teen. Bakugo rejoined the fussing crowd, but not before making eye contact with Sonic. He simply stared back. He was definitely going to enjoy knocking this guy off his high horse.

Bakugo's expression didn't change as he turned around to face the woman.

She continued after rolling her eyes. "Without further ado, it's time for us to get started! These are the qualifiers! This is where you begin to feel the pain! The first fateful game of the festival is…" She flicked her wrist, and a large screen dropped down. Words too fast to read were scrolling. "What could it be?"

When the scrolling eventually stopped, Sonic's grin nearly split his face in half.

"Tada! An obstacle race!"

Yeah, Bakugo was gonna kiss this win goodbye.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there's the second chapter! Any thoughts?


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Sonic takes on the obstacle course...with a little twist.

"Tada! An obstacle race!"

There was no point in hiding his ecstatic grin when the information soaked in. This specific game  _had_  to have been picked for him; Sonic was almost flattered.

The hedgehog glanced around the quiet crowd, the other students giving the woman on the podium all of their attention as she explained the rules of the race. They all looked so tense. Did they know how to loosen up a little? Sonic knew that they were kinda being tested on this, but it sounded fun. Where's the excitement?

Sonic's train of thought came to a halt when he unintentionally locked gazes with Bakugo. The blonde was glaring at him out of the corner of his eye, and when Sonic had caught him in the act, the teen sent out more heat before focusing on the lady up ahead.

Bakugo was the one who needed to loosen up the most, and Sonic was sure that he would  _after_  losing this race.

"Now then, take your places, contestants!"

Sonic perked up at those words. A large mass of blue uniforms began to jog over to one of the exits of the stadium. Sonic simply followed the crowd, anticipation bubbling in his gut, until he observed something that marginally slowed his pace.

The opening – which he believed was the starting line – was  _way_  too narrow to let all of these students out at once. That meant that there was going to be a massive traffic jam in a few moments…

Sonic scoffed when it eventually clicked for him. So this was the first obstacle, huh? Well, he was going to clear it no problem. The hedgehog lingered at the back of the very large group and watched as the green lights up above disappeared one at a time.

As soon as the last light dimmed, the woman shouted, "Begin!" and there was immediate chaos. Desperate bodies were shoving each other without actually making progress, loud voices pierced the air in alarm, and Sonic was glad he wasn't part of  _that_.

Pushing through was too slow. He had a  _much_  faster approach.

Sonic snickered before crouching down and leaping off the ground. He then started to hop on peoples' heads like he was a rabbit strung up on too much caffeine. He smirked at the startled shouts and angry 'heys!' he received, relieved that no one seemed to be in pain. He wasn't that heavy, but still. He didn't want to knock anyone out.

"Sorry 'bout this! A guy's gotta get through!" Mirth leaked into his tone as he recognized some of his classmates looking up at him in awe. Green-hair and Kirishima were the most expressive, smooshed between other students. Bakugo looked a bit constipated.

Sonic mock-saluted to the blonde before focusing on the incoming heads, thinking that twisting an ankle would be the complete  _opposite_  of good.

The end of the tunnel was coming up; Sonic could see the beginnings of a dirt track. A smile permanently etched into his muzzle, he went along his merry way until he ran out of students to use.

Sonic pushed off the last head – ignoring the glare he got from the guy – and was fully prepared to land safely in the dirt. However, a cold chill traveled down his spine when the temperature unexplainably dropped behind him.

He glanced over his shoulder as he landed. His mind didn't get to fully process the  _massive ice crystals_  that covered the tunnel, for the ground was suddenly iced over as well. Sonic sucked in breath when he realized that one of his feet was stuck in the freezing trap.

Sonic struggled to get his foot free to no avail, only managing to knock some flaky crystals off of it. When he heard footsteps getting closer, he lifted his gaze to watch the boy with red and white hair run past him, each step of his covering more of the ground with ice.

Mismatched eyes found Sonic for a second until they snapped back ahead. "My apologies," the boy said as he ran, voice bland and not apologetic at all.

Despite the guy's apathy and how Sonic was currently stuck…he had to admit that he was  _amazed_. The other's quick was so cool – pun definitely intended – and Sonic wished that the rest of the students would show off! Because if their quirks were like his, then  _wow._

His wish was soon granted. While most of the other students were trapped like was, some others – most from his class, if he wasn't mistaken – were free and using their quirks.

Sonic didn't even care that he was stuck as he gazed on. Bakugo was creating  _explosions_  with his  _hands_  to fly above the ice, another blonde with a belt was shooting a laser to become airborne, and the pony-tail girl used a metal pole that  _grew out of her palm_  to launch herself out of the ice.

"The humans here are the  _best_ ," Sonic whispered to himself. Heck, he had wanted to just get this race over with and speed to the finish line, but after seeing this, he was going to hang back a bit and see what these students could do!

Sonic subtly pursed his lips. And plus, wasn't this whole festival for students to get noticed by 'pro-heros'? Sonic didn't want to have  _all_  of the eyes on him. He didn't need the recognition like the students did. He wasn't going to go all out…yet.

"Nice trick, Todoroki!" The girl with the pole cried out sarcastically, and Sonic linked that name with the ice-boy's face. Which was oddly scarred, he noticed…

"I won't let you get away, you Icy-Hot bastard!" Bakugo growled, and Sonic cocked his head at that. Icy-Hot? But Todoroki just had an ice quirk, right? Well, half of his hair  _was_  red, so he could have a fire side too.

As more students began to free themselves, Sonic believed he should stop gawking and do the same. He yanked his leg a few times, groaned when that didn't work, and started to punch the ice. It came off in chunks each time until he could successfully pull himself free.

Sonic had to fight to keep his balance on the slippery surface. His shoes ensured extra traction, but unfortunately, ice wasn't in the contract.

Blur ears perked when he heard laughter coming from far up ahead. It was the kid with purple ball hair, having somehow caught up with Todoroki. He was saying something and then was rudely interrupted when a metallic arm came out of  _nowhere_  and smacked him to oblivion.

Emerald orbs widened as they took in the giant robots that had made themselves home in the middle of the track. He paid no attention to the announcer voice overhead, to the ice melting around his feet, or to how everyone else just froze in shock.

Sonic was speechless because someone  _had_  to seriously make this course for him. A race with robots in their way? Nothing made him happier.

Okay, so he was going allow himself to show off  _just_  this once.

Or maybe not. He  _really_ wanted to see what the others would do-

But they were  _robots._ They were meant for him to take down! Point, blank, period!

Sonic crouched, about to sprint and destroy the biggest bucket of bolts with a clean shot to the head, but then the bot was instantly covered with ice-cold crystals, it freezing in place.

That had to be the work of Todoroki. Said boy made a break for it between the mech's legs…before the unsteady opponent came toppling down.

Sonic protected his face and eyes from the flying dirt and dust, lowering his arms when it was safe to do so. While the announcer was gushing over Todoroki, more robots of smaller size emerged from the dust clouds, red eyes focused on the students.

Sonic grinned as the smaller ones maneuvered around the giant frozen bot, wondering if the other students were gonna make a move or not – he would be  _glad_  to – but his grin melted when someone behind him yelled out, "Hey, there's someone trapped under that robot!"

Oh. That was bad.  _Really_  bad.

However, before Sonic could even to begin to think of a plan to somehow free whoever was under there, a large crack formed in the mech's hide. A second later, a student – Kirishima to be exact – broke through the metal. "I'M ALIVE!"

Sonic was  _so_  glad for that because casualties weren't – wait a minute, was the teen's skin  _hard?_ It made sense if he could bust through a robot like that and whoa – there was a boy  _made out of metal_ beside him.

Huh. If any other kid had been under there, they would've died. What was Todoroki  _thinking?_

Sonic guessed that he had two students to smack some sense into today.

Over their momentary shock, the others rushed forward to take care of the rest of the robots. The mechs didn't stand a chance, and well – after glancing over to the lone robot closest to him – Sonic figured that he should get in on the fun.

The bot's back was to him, so it couldn't have known that a devastating kick to the head was coming until the move completely decapitated it.

Sonic landed back on the ground with a chuckle as the bot fell forward. Man, if going to this school meant fighting robots all the time, then his stay here just got a hundred percent bett-

" _Ahhh!"_

A pained scream met his ears, and Sonic's gut dropped.

"Deku!"

"Midoriya!"

He saw Iida and a girl with short brown hair run to the front of the downed robot. They were staring worriedly down at something – some _one_  – pinned under the hunk of metal.

And he sure that it wasn't Kirishima or that metal dude.

Sonic quickly jogged over as the two held onto green-hair's – or Midoriya? Deku? Deku was shorter – arms, trying to get him free. His left leg was trapped, not budging.

Iida was the first to notice his approach. A finger was harshly jabbed in Sonic's direction. "Did you do this? Did you cause this robot to fall on Midoriya?"

Sonic held his hands up innocently. "Yeah, but it wasn't on purpose! I didn't know that he was there!"

"You need to be more aware of your surroundings!" Iida chastised. "A hero is supposed to  _help_  others, not harm them!"

"Don't get so mad, Iida!" Deku addressed his friend, and Sonic noticed the tears welling up in his eyes. "He…He said that it was an accident!"

The taller boy frowned, "But-"

"We're wasting time arguing, guys!" The girl glanced at all of them, her gaze lingering on Sonic. She then touched the part of the robot holding the boy down. Sonic took a slight step back when the whole bot began to  _float._  "Iida, get him!"

"Right!" Iida dragged Midoriya out of harm's way.

Once he was clear of the mech, the girl touched her fingers together and uttered, "Release!"

The bot crashed right back to the ground.

Sonic blinked once, twice. "You can make things float? That's awesome!"

The girl clearly didn't expect the praise. She smiled a bit and rubbed the back of her neck. "It's nothing special, but nevermind me!" She looked over at Midoriya, who was trying and failing to put weight on his clearly injured ankle. "Deku! Are you hurt?"

The green-haired boy bit his trembling lip and shook his head. "I-It's sprained…I can't…"

Sonic had never felt more guilty. If the guy couldn't walk, how was he going to complete the race?

Deku must've been sharing the same thought, for more tears welled up and threatened to fall. "There's no way I can finish…"

"Nonsense, Midoriya!" Iida was acting as his temporary crutch. "I'll take you to the finish line! Just hop on my back, and-"

"No…" Deku opposed. "I can't do that, Iida. I'll just slow you down! And…" He looked around, and Sonic noticed that most of the other students had gone ahead. "We're already behind as it is!"

Iida frowned. "But we still have a chance!"

"No!"

The girl put a hand on the shorter boy's shoulder. "Deku, just-"

Before Midoriya could decline again, Sonic stepped in, giving a reassuring smile. "How about you two go on ahead? I'll take care of Deku here! I'll get him to the finish line!" He gave a thumb's up.

Midoriya seemed a bit shocked at the name for some reason. The girl and Iida looked hesitant. "…But how?" she asked.

"You'll see!" Sonic winked. "All Might recommended me for a reason, right?" That reason had nothing to do with his 'quirk', but he wanted to gain their trust. They still didn't move, and Sonic huffed. "Do all  _three_  of you want to lose this race?"

Iida and the girl shared a look before glancing at Midoriya. The boy eventually nodded. "Go on guys…I'll meet you at the finish line! Promise!"

"You better not break it! We'll see you there, Deku!" The girl exclaimed before running off with Iida in toe. Well, that was until the girl made  _herself_  float. Iida activated his engines, grabbed her wrist, and zoomed away with flames shooting out of his pipes, catching up with the rest of the students.

Sonic was impressed, but, not to toot his own horn…he was definitely faster.

"So…h-how are we doing to do this?" Midoriya asked, wiping away any moisture on his face.

Emerald eyes focused on him before shifting down to the robot. Sonic's face lit up. "Simple!" Sonic went over and yanked a large enough metal slab off the bot. There were lots of long flayed wires attached to it. Perfect. The hedgehog positioned the slab at Deku's feet and chirped, "Lay on that!"

Midoriya slowly blinked. "…What?" He looked over the metal and gasped. "You're…going to drag me to the finish line?"

Sonic nodded. "That's the idea!"

"But I weigh more than you, and-"

Sonic waved him off. "Not a problem!" Deku stared at the slab like it was the thing crushing his hopes and dreams. Sonic put a hand on his hip and sighed. For a kid not wanting to lose this race, he sure was taking his sweet time. "But what  _is_  a problem is that you're wasting precious time, pal!"

Midoriya audibly gulped before laying on the metal, careful of his ankle. He wrapped his hands in a multitude of wires to hold him in place. Sonic palmed a couple of loose ones before smirking. "Ready to go sledding?"

The boy was tense. "…I guess?"

"I'll take that as a yes! Keep your hands and feet in the vehicle at all times!" Sonic snickered as he turned around, wires taut over his right shoulder. "Things might get bumpy!"

"Sonic, I –  _wahhhh!_ "

Sonic didn't know why Deku was yelling; he wasn't running  _that_  fast. He had to tone it down so he wouldn't hurt the other even more. Okay sure, he was probably going at least twice the speed of everyone else, but that wasn't shout worthy.

Especially in this world of crazy powers.

Sonic was amused by it nonetheless. "Enjoying yourself back there?" He grinned as he glanced over his shoulder, shoes thudding against the dirt.

Deku looked somewhat terrified as he hung on for dear life. Drama queen. The teen glimpsed at the surprised people they passed, Sonic giving out haughty waves. "S-So…" Midoriya's voice was bumpy like the trail they were on. "S-Speed's your quirk? Kinda like Iida?"

Pfft. From what Sonic's seen,  _nothing_  like Iida.

"Sorta!" Sonic said as he faced the front again. He was weaving between students, passing by said boy and the girl from earlier. Sonic winked at them as he ran by, Deku not given the chance to address their shocked expressions. "But I can go  _way_  faster!"

"H-How fast?"

A chuckle bubbled up within him. "I would show ya, but I don't want you getting hurt!"

The boy didn't respond to him, but Sonic felt the questioning gaze on his back. He smirked as he dipped and dodged more students, careful to keep his grip on the wires. Deku would find out soon enough, since there's more games after this.

Sonic kept going, soaking in all the attention of his competitors, until he noticed a vast chasm fast approaching. He put on his brakes, digging his heels into the ground before coming to a complete stop. He lowly whistled at the deep pit with spotty platforms littered within. "Now  _that's_  an obstacle!"

Midoriya was more cautious than awestruck. "How in the world are we going to get across  _that?_ "

Sonic was about to answer, but their conversation gained the attention of those going to attempt the tightrope walks connecting the pieces of land. There were three girls.

The student with goggles and lots of gadgets rose a brow as she focused on Sonic, then Deku, and back to the hedgehog again. "What is this?"

Sonic answered her. "He got his ankle busted-" They didn't need to know by who. "-and I'm takin' him for a ride!"

"Hey!" The pink girl with horns furrowed her brow. "But isn't that cheating? I don't think you can help someone out like that!"

The girl beside her, slightly crouched, tapped a finger to her chin. "I don't know Ashido… Midnight didn't say anything about this in the rules." Sonic inwardly snorted. Of  _course_  that woman would be called 'midnight'. She then focused on Deku. "Are you in a lot of pain, Midoriya? Ribbit?"

Alright. Her quirk was being a frog…no doubts there.

The green-haired boy shakily smiled. "I'm fine! It's just-"

Sonic blocked out the conversation when he noticed Todoroki up ahead, using his ice powers to grind along the taut ropes about to clear this area. He also saw Bakugo zipping through the air, his explosions keeping him on ice boy's trail.

"You ready for this, Deku?" Sonic interrupted a girl. He didn't know who though. The hedgie threw the trio as a whole an apologetic smile before regarding the teen he was dragging. "We gotta get goin' if we wanna win this!"

Midoriya gulped as he stared at the chasm before peering up a him. "What exactly are we going to do? You can't help me like you have been…"

Sonic smirked. "'Course I can't! I got another idea!" In his periphery, other students had bypassed them and took on the treacherous canyon. The girl with the gadgets had propelled off the cliff with a laugh, screaming about showing off her…babies? Sonic didn't think about that too hard. He and Deku had to get going before either Todoroki or Bakugo won this thing. Midoriya opened his mouth, and Sonic but him off. "Don't even ask, because I'm about to show ya!"

Stepping a bit away from the curious girls, Sonic made sure to get a good grip on the thick bundle of wires he was holding. He faced Deku, who wasn't hiding his trepidation. "Don't worry so much, bud! Just hold on tight!"

Midoriya's eyes bugged out. "…Tight?"

Sonic didn't say anything else. Instead, he moved his feet. He started off slow, moving in a tight circle and tugging a confused Midoriya along with him. Then he moved faster and faster and  _wow_  that boy had a set of lungs on him. Sonic wondered if Deku's terrified yells could be heard all the way back at the stadium.

Sonic knew that he was whipping up some wind, causing the girls to cautiously step away from him and halting any approaching students from coming any closer. The metal slab was soon off the ground, his arms stretched out the side to keep his hold on the horrified boy until… _now!_

The hedgehog let him go when the time was right, sending the screaming studen into the air above the chasm. As dust settled around him, Sonic watched as Deku soared, proud of himself. He should probably take up hammer throwing when he got back home. It'd be a great hobby.

"Oh my  _god!_ " Ashido shrieked in horror when Midoriya imitated a launched missile. Gotta love – what did Tails call it? – centrifugal force. Yeah, that's the phrase! The horned female didn't care about her disheveled hair at all as she whirled to face Sonic. "You-! What was  _that?!"_

"My plan!" Sonic chirped.

The frog girl was speechless as pinky screamed. "Do you want to  _kill_  him?!"

Sonic rolled his eyes. "Why in the world would I do that? I'm helpin' the guy out!" His ever drifted over at a still airborne Deku and grinned. "Watch this!"

The azure speedster backed up a few steps, took a deep breath, and sprinted for the edge of the cliff, kicking up a massive cloud of dirt. Sonic avoided the rope altogether, using his powerful legs to jump and propel over the deep drop. He made a clean landing on the closest rocky platform, keeping an eye on Deku. He was on a decline now, and Sonic needed to be on the next tower of land.

Not wasting time, Sonic sped off again, leaping over the hole once more with ease. Making to the next platform, he didn't stop. He used his momentum to leap high into the air, curling into a tight ball. He kept his quills relaxed because sawing the metal slab in half was the last thing he wanted to do.

The hedgie crashed into the underside of Midoriya's sled, knocking the student higher into the air. Sonic grinned as he fell back down, aiming for the platform conveniently under him. Sonic felt the adrenaline circulating in his veins as he repeated the routine: hop, jump, hit, hop, jump, hit. His idea was perfect…up until the point where he was coming up on the end of the canyon with no idea how to get Deku to land safely.

Well…He was known for his improvised actions, so this would end okay, right? Right.

Sonic jumped and bumped up the slab one last time before landing on the other side of the small canyon. His eyes were trained on the metal, slowing down and predicting where it was going to land. It wasn't long before Midoriya was in a nose dive, his voice hoarse from shouting so much. And was he crying? …Yeah, he was crying.

The hedgehog narrowed his eyes marginally as he waited for the perfect time. Deku had to be enough distance from the ground, but he couldn't be too high in the air either.

"HELP ME!" the boy screamed for his dear life and Sonic figured that now was good enough. He zoomed forward and jumped up, grabbing for the wires he had used to initially toss the boy. The speedster used his momentum to whirl around – straightening the slab out – and hurling his partner away at a horizontal.

Midoriya skipped along the dirt ahead of him. The touchdown was rough, but it was better than ramming headfirst in the ground. Sonic knew that from experience. The boy eventually slowed down to a stop. Sonic planted a grin on his muzzle as he jogged over.

Deku was a mess. He was breathing heavily, his eyes were blown wide and bloodshot, there were tear stains on his cheeks, and he looked about to pass out.

"That wasn't too bad, yeah?" Sonic bent down and patted his shoulder. "Got you over in one piece!"

The student didn't answer him, still regathering himself.

Sonic grabbed the bundle of wires and turned around. "You gotta admit it, it was fun! Got your blood pumpin'!" The hedgehog kept positive as he started forward, gaze focused ahead at the only two competitors in front of them. Sonic would catch up in  _no_  time. He was running at a steady pace, gaining on the duo ahead. A question then popped into his head, causing him to peer behind himself. "Hey Deku, are you friends with Roki and Kacchan?"

Despite how disheveled Midoriya was, he still managed to look taken aback at his words. What? It was an innocent question! It took a moment, but he finally answered. His voice was slowly recovering. "S-Sorry…um, it's just a little shocking to hear you say those nicknames but uh…" Deku visibly strained to keep his hands from shaking, coming down from the high of his flight. "I've known Kacchan since I was little, but…" He trailed off before continuing, "…and Todoroki's…maybe a friend?"

Sonic scoffed as he faced back forward. "So…no. That's good though! That means that you won't feel guilty when we strip first place away from them!" He was getting a jerk-y vibe from Bakugo, and Todoroki could've killed someone! Yeah, sure Sonic had technically made the same mistake, but it was an accident. Todoroki did it kinda on purpose.

It was silent for a moment, nothing but his thudding feet and the scrapping metal reaching his ears. They were getting closer to the duo ahead. Sonic would've gone faster, but he wanted Midoriya to recover a little more before facing his speed again.

"…Sonic…back there, that was…"

"Incredible?"

"Insane! I could've fallen, I could've…could've…!"

"But you didn't!" Sonic flashed him a smile.

Deku didn't return it, but his upset expression marginally relaxed. Sonic focused in front of him while the boy went on, "Your quirk, super speed…you're pretty experienced with using it…"

_Severe_  understatement. "Considering what I just did, yeah I'd think so!" Sonic chuckled before throwing his voice back. "Speaking of quirks, what's yours?"

When he didn't get an immediate response, he peeked at the other's face. He seemed a bit hesitant. Though, Deku brightened as he caught his gaze. "S-Super strength!"

Sonic disregarded that uncertainty. "Cool! Can't wait to see that in action!" Something changed in Deku's eyes, but it was so subtle that Sonic believed he had imagined it. Emerald irises shifted to the other's foot. "How's the ankle? It's not worse, is it?"

"It's fine… As long as I don't move it, it doesn't hurt."

Sonic nodded, glad that his stunt hadn't jarred the injury too badly.

The duo turned a corner, and the hedgie almost faltered in his step at the sight of the large minefield in front of him.

"Todoroki and Kacchan are up ahead, neck-and-neck!" Deku observed.

His words rung true, for Bakugo was flying over the mines and Icy-Hot was careful of his steps, the latter actively dodging the explosion boy's attacks. They had barely entered the field. Sonic put a hand on his hip. "Well  _he's_  playin' dirty."

"That's not anything new…" Midoriya mumbled.

Sonic's lips curled upwards. "Hold on tight, Deku."

"Again?" the boy whimpered. "Please don't tell me that you're going to throw me…!"

The hedgehog eased his fears. "Nope! It's just that you're about to experience some serious speed, and I need you ready!"

"Serious speed?" Sonic heard the other gulp. "…What does that mean?"

Sonic's ears twitch, hearing footsteps and voices coming from far behind. He didn't have to look to see that some students were catching up. "We're about to outrun those mines!"

"Outrun – No! That's not possible! And dangerous!"

That never stopped Sonic before. He crouched low, grin nearly splitting his face in half. "Possible? Totally. Dangerous? Heck yeah!"

"Wait, Sonic!  _Please-_ "

Midoriya didn't get the chance to finish his plea, for Sonic blasted off.

Sonic laughed ecstatically as he shot across the field, hearing a multitude of explosions going off behind him. The mines had a second reaction time; Sonic was long gone when they detonated. Todoroki and Bakugo had turned around only to have Sonic zoom in between them, wind whipping through his quills. More booms filled the air, and before he knew it, he had reached the other side.

The hedgehog slowed down, but he didn't stop running as the stadium came into view. Chortles escaped his throat. "Now  _that_  was awesome! Did you see their faces? Priceless!"

The only response he received was an incomprehensible gurgle.

Curious, Sonic glanced at the student and had to stifle his chuckles. Midoriya's hair was swept back chaotically, and there were streaks of dirt on his face. He was breathing deeply again, trying to answer once more and only producing a meek, "…eep…"

The entrance to the stadium was getting closer. Sonic couldn't hold it in any longer. He snickered. "If only you see your face right now!"

"M-My life f-flashed before my eyes…"

"I bet!"

Deku was slowly but surely coming back to his senses. "I-I don't think Iida can go that fast…"

"I'm sure he could if he tried!" Sonic would actually like to help Iida out if he could. The guy could be a great racing partner. The hedgehog decreased his speed to a measly trot once inside the tunnel. He heard the roar of cheers coming from other side. However, before he crossed the 'finish line', he fully stopped.

"What are you doing? Why are we stopping?"

Sonic dropped the wires he was holding and turned his body around. He went over to Deku's side and bent down. "You didn't think that I was gonna drag you the whole way, did you? You hafta finish on your own two feet!"

The boy chewed his bottom lip, sending fleeting looks behind them. "But Kacchan and Todoroki can show up anytime and-"

Sonic snorted as he pried Midoriya's tense fingers from around the wires he had been gripping to stay on the metal slab. The hedgehog positioned the other's arm over his shoulders. "Did you  _not_  see how we blew them up back there? We've got plenty of time! And the finish is just right there!"

Deku must've realized that Sonic wasn't going to give him any other option, for he quickly relented. "O-Okay…" He exhaled as he detached from the piece of metal, getting to his knees. The teen gritted his teeth as he got his feet under him, leaning heavily on Sonic for support. At his full height, Midoriya removed his arm from around the hedgehog and settled for putting a hand on the shorter one's shoulder to steady himself.

Sonic smiled up at him. "Ready to win this thing?"

Midoriya returned the expression, wiping some dirt off his cheeks. "Let's do this!"

The azure speedster walked forward, and the teen limped beside him. The roar of the crowd grew louder and louder until…

"This is  _crazy_ , ladies and gentlemen!" the announcer shouted, "We have a tie for first place! The spot belongs to Izuku Midoriya and Sonic Hedgehog! When's the last time  _this_  has happened, folks?!"

Had Sonic kept a sharp eye on the position of their feet to ensure the tie? Maybe. He couldn't let Midoriya take second after busting up his ankle, but then again…

Sonic the hedgehog had never lost a race, and he sure wasn't going to start now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I loved how this one turned out!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Sonic builds a team for the Cavalry Battle.

The booming cheers were near deafening.

Sonic observed the colorful crowd in the stands while fluttering confetti rained down on them. Warmth spreading within him, the hedgehog waved back at the audience with a radiant smile, not one to shy away from attention.

Hearing sniffing beside him, Sonic glanced up at Midoriya only to find him to wiping away his waterfall of tears. Sonic didn't know if this guy was simply overwhelmed or what, but there was no question than he had working tear ducts.

"Hey Deku. How ya feelin'?" Sonic asked, and he realized that Midoriya was crying tears of joy when broken chuckles escaped him.

"I…I just…" The sniffling teen focused on Sonic with a wobbly smile. "I just want to say thank you! Without you I would've been completely  _last_  and-"

Sonic waved him off, grinning. "You don't have to thank me! It was the least I could do, y'know? Couldn't have you lose because of me!" He was a well-known hero in his home world for a reason. And plus, Deku might've suffered from dehydration if he actually did come dead-last, with his hydrant eyes and all.

Midoriya didn't say anything else, nothing but appreciation swirling in those damp orbs. Then, the boy looked up into the crowd, and Sonic followed his gaze when he saw the other's brightness dull a bit.

Deku was staring up at a blonde-haired man with dark eyes, who was sitting in a separate booth than the rest of the spectators. The man was clapping, but his expression was unreadable as he looked down at them two.

Sonic furrowed his brow before opening his mouth. "Is that your dad or something?"

Midoriya flinched like he had been struck. He waved his hands back and forth wildly. "N-No, no, no! You've got it wrong!" The boy calmed down, frowning at the ground now. "He's…sorta like a mentor to me. Um…I guess he expected me to win the race by myself, but…"

Sonic scoffed. "Don't worry about him then!" This was the last place to have a self-esteem drop. Adults were too judge-y anyway. "He saw that it was my fault, so he shouldn't be mad at you!" He laughed, trying to boost Midoriya's spirit. "And plus, you handled my speed like a champ! I say you're a winner because of that alone!"

Deku attempted to regain his positivity. "Yeah, I-"

"Midoriya."

Both first place winners faced the direction of the new voice, and Sonic nearly gaped at the cement slab with legs approaching them. The man stopped in front of the green-haired boy. "Let's go to Recovery Girl before the next game takes place. Can you walk on your own, or do you need help?"

Deku wiped the remaining moisture on his face away. "I just have to lean on you a little bit…" The cement monster-man nodded, and they began walking off, the boy using his elder as a crutch. Midoriya gave a small parting wave. "Thank you again, Sonic!"

"No problem!" The hedgehog returned the gesture. "Say hi to Mrs. RG for me!"

Deku allowed a snicker. He nodded before turning and focusing on walking out of the arena.

Now that Midoriya was taken care of, Sonic faced the tunnel he just had cleared, wondering about the fates of the students still running the race. More specifically, Todoroki and Bakugo.

He was sure that they had fun with the explosions he set off in their faces.

And then, coincidentally, both of those boys entered the arena.

The announcer's voice echoed. "Here we go, folks! More contestants are trickling in! Positions for second and third place are both claimed by Class 1-A students: Shoto Todoroki and Katsuki Bakugo!"

The two boys looked rough for wear. Their hair was blown wildly in different directions – which wasn't that unusual for Bakugo – and they had dirt stains all over their bodies, including their faces.

They were panting with their hands on their knees. Todoroki had his gaze on the ground in front of him, struggling to catch his breath, while Bakugo had wasted no time in finding Sonic, red eyes narrowed dangerously.

Sonic jogged over to them, and Todoroki lifted his head. "Good job, guys!" He gave the two a thumbs up, a smirk growing on his muzzle. "Way to take second and third!"

Bakugo straightened up and stepped forward until he was basically leaning over the hedgehog. Sonic wasn't intimidated in the slightest, keeping his cheekiness. Apparently, Bakugo didn't like that, for his glare increased in intensity.

The ashy blonde growled out lowly, "Next game, you  _will_  die."

Sonic blinked, not really expecting that. However, his life had been threatened so many times that the meaning was watered down at this point. Plus, he doubted any of the teachers would allow that. It would be horrible publicity if they did.

"If you can catch me first, Kacchan." Sonic jeered.

The eruption of a volcano paled in comparison to Bakugo's reaction.

"What the  _fuck_  did you call me?!" The dirty student snarled, the hands at his sides creating mini-explosions with each spat out syllable. "The next time you fucking call me that,  _Roadkill_ , I'll make your ass  _regret_  enrolling into this school!"

Now that he was close-up and personal with the guy, Sonic figured the last thing he wanted was one of those hands aimed at his face. Each 'pop' was loud and followed by a temperature spike. But even so, his mouth ran on its own.

Sonic put a hand on his hip. "Start callin' me by my name, and I'll do the same, yeah? It's only fair, right Kacchan?" He saw the clenched jaw and the tensed muscles, and he figured he only had about five seconds to defuse the situation. "You don't wanna start a fight out here, do ya? With everyone watching?"

That got Bakugo to pause, glancing around. There were hundreds of people around witnessing this plus the small number of students trickling into the arena. Todoroki was still there to the side, observing in silence.

The blonde curled his fingers into fists. His anger was very much still there. "You  _better_ watch your ass when this is over." He threatened before practically stomping away.

Sonic followed the boy with his gaze, debating on shouting another remark, but he thought against it. For now. The hedgehog then turned back around and opened his mouth to address Todoroki; however, the boy was walking away with his hands in his pockets.

"The strong silent type, huh?" Sonic muttered to himself before raising his voice. "Hey, Roki!" The boy promptly froze mid-stride, turning his head slightly so a disbelieving blue eye stared back at him. Sonic continued, "Next game, can you  _try_  not to crush people with robots?"

The disbelief melted into sharp apathy. "I'll keep that in mind." Todoroki faced away again. "Along with beating you." He started to walk away once more.

So Bakugo was a raging bull while Todoroki was the calm before the storm, huh? Well, Sonic had something to look forward to.

Now done with that minimal conversation, the hedgehog noticed how loud it was behind him. Turning, he saw more and more students enter the arena in different conditions: from slightly out of breath to nearly passing out.

"Sonic!"

The hedgie perked up at his name and found the person calling out to him. It was Iida quickly approaching with that short-haired girl from earlier.

"Where is he?" They both questioned at the same time, and it didn't take a genius to know who they were talking about.

Sonic jabbed a thumb over his shoulder. "A teacher is takin' him the nurse. She should be fixing him up right now!"

The girl sighed in relief. "Good… Now about you…!"

"That display of your quirk was truly remarkable!" Iida exclaimed, the girl nodding in awe. "Not only did you win the race, but you also helped Midoriya!" The boy then frowned, bowing. "I've judged you wrongly before. Please forgive me!"

Sonic rubbed the back of his neck, chuckling. "No need to apologize! I don't blame ya!"

"It was truly amazing though!" The girl gushed. "You blew past us so easily!"

With them fawning over him, he couldn't help but to boast a little bit. "You think that was impressive? That was just a measly jog," Sonic said playfully. The girl's eyes widened while Iida stroked his chin.

"A jog…?" Iida hummed thoughtfully. "But that was…" He paused before asking, "If you don't mind answering, just how fast can you go?"

Was Sonic going to give him a definite answer? Of course not. Where was the fun in that? He hinted, "At  _least_  Mach one."

Iida inhaled sharply. "You  _must_  be kidding! I can't…you can't…"

"The  _speed_  of  _sound?_ " The girl covered her mouth in surprise before addressing her friend. "Iida-"

The boy shook his head slowly, apparently knowing what she was going to ask.

She puffed out her cheeks a bit. "Don't get down about this, Iida! I'm sure you can do things that Sonic  _wishes_  he could do!"

Sonic hoped that he did. He  _loved_  seeing what these quirks were capable of.

Iida stared at her for a second before giving a determined nod. "You're right, Uraraka! I – Wait!" He pointed in the distance over Sonic's shoulder. "There's Midoriya!"

Uraraka gasped, running in that direction. "Deku! Are you okay?!"

Iida hastily followed after her. "We are so glad that you got to finish the race!"

Sonic turned to see Deku walking normally out in the open until he was stopped by his friends. Sonic chuckled hearing Midoriya placate them two with a sheepish smile. Then, he made eye contact with Sonic, and the speedster was about to make his way over when Midnight stood on the same podium as before and beckoned all the students.

Sonic could barely contain himself as he anticipated the next game. He ended up beside Deku among the students in front of the crowd. Bakugo was somewhere behind him because he could feel the burning glare on his back.

Midnight smiled at all of them. "The first game for the first years is finally over and what a game it was! Now let's take a look at the standings shall we?" The huge screen above her showed the rankings, and Sonic grinned at the sight of him and Deku claiming first place. "Only the top forty-two will advance to the next round-" There were disappointed mumblings all around. "-but don't be so down if you didn't make the cut. We've prepared other opportunities for you to shine."

She licked her lips, and Sonic wondered exactly  _why_  she was a high school teacher.

Midnight continued on. "Now the  _real_  fun is about to begin. The chance to fully move yourselves into the limelight! Give it your best!" She raised her short whip, and the screen behind her began to scroll very quickly. "Let's see what we have in store for you next! Will your wildest fantasies come to life?" Midnight adjusted her red glasses mischievously. "Prepare yourselves…" She gestured at the screen when it stopped scrolling. "For this!"

…A cavalry battle? Sonic cocked his head in confusion, the first time hearing about this kind of game before. However, it became clear to him as Midnight explained it.

This game required teams with someone being carried. Sonic was a hundred percent sure that he was going to be the one riding, so he couldn't really utilize his speed here, but that was fine. This was another chance to see what these students could do!

He was thrown out of his thoughts however when a point value system was mentioned. "Each player has been assigned a point value based on the results from the obstacle course." Sonic understood that each team would have different overall points, and that his team would have a  _crapload_  of them.

She talked about how – from the bottom – the points went up by five until first place, who had- "Ten  _million_  points!"

Sonic whistled in awe when the scheming gazes of the other students landed on him and Midoriya. Ten million? He was going to have a  _blast_  dodging the other teams targeting him. He couldn't wait. He was down for any challenge thrown his way.

The azure speedster glanced over to Deku, and he couldn't say he was surprised that Midoriya looked like he was going to keel over then and there.

"Well, ten million points would be the amount the winner would  _normally_  be assigned to." Sonic refocused on Midnight when she resumed her speech, nearly caught off-guard when he realized that she was staring at him and Deku. "But this wasn't exactly a normal race, was it? Because we have  _two_  first place winners, each get five million points! It's fair…" She chuckled lowly. "And it still lets those at the bottom have a chance to overthrow the top!"

Midnight went on to talk about headbands and having to snatch them from others to build your score, but Sonic was half-listening to that, figuring that it didn't exactly apply to him. He was going to be on a full-defensive. He was okay with that, but who else would be? From the determined stares he was _still_  getting, he knew that he was going to have to work some magic to pull a team together.

"Now, you have fifteen minutes to build your team!" Midnight shouted as a timer appeared behind her. "I recommend you get started!"

There was immediate chatter as soon as Midnight was done. Sonic watched as students scattered, slowly but surely forming teams. And as expected, no one came to Sonic asking for anything.

Well, except, "Sonic…?"

The hedgehog turned to face a nervous Deku. "Yeah?"

He could hear the other gulp. Sonic was curious to how the boy would be as an actual hero. Being nervous all the time wasn't going to make things easy…and it couldn't be healthy either.

Midoriya's voice was shaky. "Do you want to be teammates? Since everyone else is avoiding us?"

Sonic pursed his lips. That seemed like a good idea, but, "Nope!" Deku blinked in shock, and he went to explain himself. "You see, if we work together, then  _everyone_  would be on our tails, yeah? If we are on separate teams, then you'll only have to worry about half of the players!" Also, Sonic thought that Deku wouldn't be able to handle that kind of pressure just yet, but he didn't want to say that out loud.

Deku hesitantly nodded, but he didn't look too happy. "I see what you're saying, but…but  _no one's_  going to risk us being on their team!" He was getting increasingly stressed, moisture building up in his ducts. "We're going to be  _alone_ , so please-"

"Hey, Deku!" Uraraka called out, approaching them with a wave. "Let's team up!"

Tears immediately sprayed out, and Sonic had to figure out the splash zone for this guy.

Sonic gestured to the girl. "See, Deku? You'll have no problem findin' a team!"

Uraraka creased her brow as Midoriya calmed back down. "Wait…are you not going to be grouped with us?"

"Nah." Sonic flashed her a grin. "This way, it's guaranteed that all of us are gonna make it to the next round!" All they had to do was to keep the headbands safe. Shouldn't be too hard!

The girl blinked. "Uh…Okay…" She agreed, but doubt was present in her tone. "Well, good luck finding a team!"

Deku opened his mouth to say something, but he closed it without uttering a word.

"Thanks!" Sonic chirped, turning away from them. "And I'm sure you'll find your other two easy enough!" He gave the duo a curt wave over his shoulder before walking off, surveying the area.

Most of the players were in the process of forming groups. Bakugo was standing in the middle of a ring of peers asking to join with him, Todoroki was speaking with the girl with the black ponytail, and – Sonic paused in his step when he locked eyes with someone.

Someone who was standing alone.

Sonic changed his course and strolled toward the other with a pep in his step. The student wasn't walking away as he got closer, so that was a good sign.

Standing in front of his target, Sonic beamed up at the tired eyes looking – or was that a glare? – down at him. The speedster wondered if the boy got any sleep at all because  _wow_  even his bags had bags. Sonic knew for sure that he wasn't in his class, for he would've recognized the crazy purple hair and strange resemblance with his teacher.

"Hey there!" Sonic brightly greeted. "Lookin' for a teammate?"

The boy shoved his hands in his pockets, voice sounding as rugged as he looked. "Not in someone from the hero course, but it seems like I have no other choice." Dark purples peered at something behind Sonic, and the hedgie glanced back to find a pink-haired girl – he recognized her from the obstacle course – conversing with Deku and Uraraka.

Sonic regarded the other, curiosity peaked. "So…you're not in the hero course?"

Something in the boy's expression darkened. "No. General studies."

The speedster subtly frowned. What was up with this guy? "Why not? You don't have a quirk or somethin'?"

"I have a quirk."

There was a glint in the student's eyes that Sonic didn't know how to feel about. Despite that weirdness however, Sonic queried, "Oh! So you just didn't pass whatever test they had to take, right?"

"Pass whatever test…?" Surprise was etched into the boy's features. "You didn't have to take the entrance exam?" Before Sonic had a chance to confirm it, the other scowled before moving to step away.

Shocked at the unexpected move, Sonic hopped in his way. "Hey! Where are ya goin'?"

Those purple irises held hostility. "I'm going to go build a team to knock the All Might recommended student down." There was a smirk with no mirth behind it. "Then, I'm going to get in the hero course. Does that answer satisfy you?"

Get in? As in…what? However, Sonic had no time to properly think about it for his catch was getting away again. This time, the hedgie reached out and grabbed the other's arm.

He shook off the glare aimed at him while he thought on his feet. "You said that you wanted to basically win this, right?" The guy didn't answer. "Well, not being on my team is the worst way to do that, pal!"

The other derisively snorted. "Yeah, right."

"It's true!" Sonic defended himself, letting the arm go. He was inwardly relieved when the guy stayed put. "'Cause there's  _no_  way my headband is gonna be taken!"

The boy didn't seem convinced, his frown still in place.

Sonic ran his fingers through his loose quills. "You think that these are just for show?" Emerald irises searched around to make sure no one was watching before bristling his spines. The student's eyes widened marginally, and Sonic knew he had him hooked.

He relaxed his quills. "My reactions are fast enough to dodge attacks from the front, and these bad boys will protect my back. So…" Sonic held out an expectant hand. "What do ya say?"

The guy stared at him for a moment before letting his gaze travel around the arena. He eventually released a heavy sigh before shaking Sonic's hand somewhat limply. Glad that this worked out, Sonic was about to pull away, but the grip on him increased.

"You better keep your word," the student mumbled crisply, letting go not a second afterward.

Sonic gaped like a fish as he rubbed his wrist. "I…always do! Don't you worr – where are you going?" he hurriedly asked when his partner ambled past him. "I thought we were a team!"

"We are." Those tired eyes found him. "But we should get two more people, shouldn't we? I'll fetch some."

Sonic really hoped that teaming up with him was a good idea. He didn't seem like the best people-person. "Good idea! I'll come-"

"Sonic."

The hedgehog wasn't bothered by the interruption. "What's up?"

The smirk had returned. "Cloud watch until I come back."

* * *

"Hey."

Sonic jumped at the voice, blinking rapidly as he turned his attention from the sky to the one who had addressed him. That was kinda weird. He must've had zoned out or something, but that his tiny lapse of memory wasn't important right now.

What  _was_  important was the three students standing in front of him.

The purple-haired guy – the one who spoke – bobbed his head at the two others. "That's Kosei Tsuburaba." He introduced the boy with brown hair. "And that's Neito Monoma." He was referring to the blonde standing next to him.

Sonic couldn't help but to stare. Okay, he knew everyone had their quirks in all, but the two newcomers just standing there staring blankly off into space was sorta creepy, not gonna lie.

"…Are they alright?" Sonic asked, going over and waving a hand into pair's faces only to get no response.

A shrug was his answer.

"Is this because of their quirks…whatever it's supposed to be?" Zombie. Maybe their power was being a zombie. It was strange that they had the same quirk though, but he guessed that it could happen.

"No."

Sonic was thrown for a loop. "Wha-"

"Tsuburaba's quirk is solid air, and Monoma's quirk is copy," the purple-haired boy informed dryly.

"Ooo…" Sonic was about to go on about how awesome those sounded, but he pushed that feeling down for a moment. He put his hands on his hips. "Wait…then the creepiness isn't caused by their quirks at all?"

There was another shrug.

Sonic eyed the dude, feeling like something was off here. "Hey, you haven't told me your name or your quirk yet."

The one addressed rubbed the back of his neck, drawling out, "It's Hitoshi Shinso. My quirk…" He trailed off, gaze switching to the other students who have all grouped up at this point. "…is brainwashing."

Sonic couldn't help but to gape. Had he heard that right?  _Brainwashing?_  A wide grin to covered his muzzle, and Shinso seemed a little taken aback by that. "Are you serious?" Sonic examined the other two boys, and it all made sense now. "That's awesome! You're like Mr. Aizawa!"

Shinso froze, shock covering his face. "…What?"

Sonic continued to gush because this was  _crazy_. "Yeah! Like, he can stop any villain from using their quirk, and you can stop any villain  _period._  You're definitely gonna be one of the best heroes out there!" Sonic then tapped his chin in thought. "How in the world did you fail the entrance test?"

Shinso looked like he didn't believe what he was hearing, his brows marginally pinching together. "I…The test was against robots, and I can't use my quirk on something with no brain."

Sonic nodded, feeling bad for the guy. "I get it. The test wasn't fair to you at all!"

There was a scoff, Shinso shaking his head a bit. "Tell me something I don't know."

The speedster reached up and patted his arm. "That's all in the past, though! Let's focus on the right now, as in, getting you into the hero course!" Sonic smiled, and the boy  _almost_  gave him one back. But hey, that was progress in his book.

Sonic took a step back and turned his attention to the other two again. "About these guys…why'd you brainwash them in the first place?"

"To get them on our team with no argument."

Sonic believed that Shinso's quirk was amazing, don't get him wrong, but did he really have to do it? "You couldn't have just asked?"

A purple eyebrow twitched upwards. "Do you really think that would've worked? With the five million hanging above your head?"

"It could've!"

"I doubt it." Shinso opposed. "They were searching for people in their own class. You only got me  _because_  no one else in 1-C made it."

Sonic guessed that was General Studies. He didn't want to admit that his teammate  _might've_  had a point. A small one. "Okay, well, since they're here now, can't you uh…stop what you're doin'?"

"I could, but I'm not." A question was on the tip of Sonic's tongue, and Shinso must've sensed it coming. The brainwasher explained, "I'll let them loose before the game starts so there won't be any time to ask questions and potentially leave us high and dry."

Sonic was a mixture of impressed and uncertain. Having the other two under prematurely was a little dirty, but at the same time, "You really thought this one through, huh?"

"Somewhat," Shinso breathed out.

Another thought then came to Sonic. "I'm not sayin' do this, but why don't you just keep them under the whole time? Or brainwash me too?"

"It crossed my mind." The hedgie rose an interested brow at the devious confession and at the upturned lips that accompanied it. "Before I realized that it wasn't a smart idea. I want to keep my quirk under wraps, but everyone's going to be looking at the five million teams. Someone would realize that something was off sooner or later."

Sonic had to agree even though he didn't know why the other didn't want to flaunt his power. What Shinso had said was true though; zombies weren't hard to spot. "What about Monoma?" His quirk was copy, right? As in copying other quirks? "Wouldn't he-"

"Not if he doesn't know that I have a quirk."

The hedgehog blinked before chuckling. "You're smart, you know that?"

Shinso rubbed the back of his neck again, glancing away. "I try."

Sonic was going to say something else, but a loud buzzer cut him off. He found the source and saw that the timer had reached zero.

Excited emeralds met determined violets, and Sonic already felt his adrenaline pumping. "It's showtime!"

* * *

Every team was spread out around the edge of the arena. Sonic eagerly hopped into the awaiting arms of his teammates, easily finding balance. Monoma and Shinso were supporting him from behind while Tsuburaba was positioned in the front.

The hedgehog lifted the bandana held tight in his grip. It had a whopping five million and some change on the front in red. He tied it tight round his forehead, amped for this thing to start.

"What…Where am I?"

Hearing an unfamiliar voice, Sonic peered back at Monoma, who was frowning as he took in his situation. Those grey eyes found Shinso and then Sonic. A deep frown marred his face. "And why exactly am I holding a 1- _A_  student?"

"You took those questions right out of my mouth!" exclaimed a voice from the front. Shinso must've let the two go at the same time, Sonic figured.

The hedgehog observed the both of them before lingering on Monoma, who seemed the most upset. "What are you talkin' about?" he asked, feigning innocence. He didn't mind stretching the truth here, because he was basically doing them two a favor in insuring their win. "Shinso there asked you guys if you wanted to be on our team, and you walked right on over."

"I don't believe that." Monoma argued, sounding almost disgusted. "I wouldn't willingly partner up with  _anyone_  from 1-A."

Sonic didn't like his tone. "What the matter with you, pal? If you have some kind of beef with my classmates, leave me out of it because I  _just_  joined today."

"He's got a point, Monoma." Tsuburaba reluctantly admitted, though he was curiously eying the hedgehog. "But about us agreeing, I have  _no_  memory of that!"

The blonde narrowed his distrustful greys at Sonic. "It had to be some kind of quirk. You couldn't have done it though…" He zeroed in on Shinso. "Did  _you_  do this? What's your quirk?"

Shinso sighed. "I don't have one. I'm from General Studies."

"Really?" Tsuburaba asked incredulously while Sonic inwardly chuckled. "Then how did you get this far in the festival?"

"Lucked up, I guess."

Monoma wasn't as enthusiastic. "Then it had to be one of 1-A's…" He made eye contact with his brown-haired friend. "One of them must've slipped under the radar during the obstacle race."

Tsuburaba nodded. "Yeah." Then he gazed at all of the other teams getting ready. "This is about to be  _real_  interesting…"

Sonic patting his shoulder reassuringly. "Don't worry about it! You're on the winning team!"

There was a scoff behind him, and he heard the smugness in Monoma's voice. "Of course we are. You have Tsuburaba  _and_  me here." His words lowered in volume. "Though, it would be better if we were  _against_  you…"

"Well, you're not," Shinso uttered. "So shut up and help us win this."

Sonic was going to have to thank him for that later.

"Whether you wanted to work with us or not, we're a team!" Sonic reminded, needing them to unite to effectively kick butt. "Get your head in the game so we can protect our winning ticket!"

Tsuburaba snickered. "Don't have to tell me twice. A win is a win, Monoma, no matter how you get it!"

The blonde just mumbled incomprehensibly under his breath.

"Let's get this started!" the male announcer shouted out. "One last countdown before the game starts! Three…two…one!"

Sonic sought out Midoriya's team on the opposite side of the field. In addition to Uraraka and the pink-haired girl, the bird guy – Tokoyami? – was part of their team too.

Deku was already looking in his direction. Sonic gave a thumbs up. He received a determined nod back.

Midnight shouted, "Begin!"

_Here we go._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The action was supposed to be in this chapter, but I got carried away. Prepare for the battle next update! 
> 
> And I know that Tsuburaba is a complete random character, but I really like his quirk and it has a lot of potential...so yeah.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which things get a little heated.

Adrenaline danced in his veins as Sonic was lurched forward, the Cavalry Battle officially starting. The trio carrying him weren't going anywhere fast, their keen and stiff gazes snapping back and forth to watch for any incoming teams.

Sonic was doing the same, though he couldn't understand why everything had to be so tense. He had to keep himself from bouncing up and down in excitement for what was to come as he surveyed the arena. Most of the other teams had taken off as well while some were sizing up their competition.

And by competition, he meant either his or Midoriya's teams.

Sonic realized that his earlier prediction had been right, about half of the other teams were focused on Deku, and the rest were laser focused on his group. And it's funny because it looked like most of the students from Class 1-A were in that  _latter_ category.

Shinso must've noticed at the same time, for he muttered, "Class B's not coming for us."

Monoma's hum couldn't have been any more pleased. "Of course not. We planned to show the world what our class is made of, and to do that, we have to outdo all of the showy Class A. Then they'll be put below us where they belong."

Sonic was in too good of a mood to address any of what Monoma said. "I prefer if this way!" Sonic smirked against the wind. "I get to learn what my classmates' quirks are!"

Before someone could respond to his exclamation, another shout pierced the air, aimed specifically at the blue hedgehog. "I'm coming for you,  _Roadkill!_  You should've  _never_  messed with me! That five million is  _mine!_ "

Sonic whipped his head to the left to see Bakugo's team charging right for them from across the way. The ashy blonde seemed absolutely murderous, the students carrying him – Kirishima, Weird elbows, and Ashido – looking slightly concerned, and Sonic wondered if anyone had accidently mistaken Bakugo as a villain before. It would be easy to.

"Jeez." In the front, Tsuburaba eyed the irate teen warily before glancing up at Sonic. "He calls you Roadkill? What did you do to him? Run over his cat or something?"

"Nah." Sonic waved him off. "I just snatched first from him, that's all!" Though, that could equal running over Bakugo's pet, with how the guy was acting.

Monoma scoffed, tone smug. "Nothing but a pampered and spoiled brat. He'll see. They'll all see."

Monoma could be mistaken as a villain too, Sonic figured.

"So…What's the plan?" Tsuburaba threw the question out there.

"Don't really do plans!" Sonic chirped. "More of a 'go with the flo' type of guy, y'know?" He and plans mixed together like oil and water, or fire and propane. Basically, plans usually went up in smoke when he was involved.

Tsuburaba looked disbelievingly at him before sighing, "Perfect." Sonic heard Monoma breathe out the same thing as well.

However, the grey-eyed blonde bounced right back. "But that doesn't matter, because this team is half 1-B, and we can-"

"Look alive!"

Shinso's shout barely registered in Sonic's mind before his body instinctively reacted, ducking as low as he could in the others' hold. He was glad that years of experience fine-tuned his muscles, because there were purple balls flying past where his head had been.

"Good thing you weren't lying about your fast reflexes," Shinso said, a twinge of relief in his voice.

The violet projectiles stopped coming, and Sonic focused in the direction they came from. For a second, he didn't know what he was looking at. There was a giant guy running straight at them with… _six_  webbed arms? Wait, wasn't he in his class? …Yeah, he remembered seeing the huge dude, just not his extra appendages that were now shaped like a cocoon on his back.

"You got lucky, newbie!" A familiar voice shouted out from the darkness of the cocoon. A face then peered out of the shadows, sporting a wicked grin. Seeing who it was, Sonic should've made the connection earlier, especially with shorty's crazy hair. "But you can't rely on luck forever!"

While he cackled, another face appeared. It was the frog girl from the obstacle course. "I hope you don't hate us for this, ribbit." They disappeared back into the shadows before more purple balls were launched out  _along_  with a crazily long tongue whipping in his direction.

Sonic barely managed an awed 'whoa' before a wide circular shield appeared out of  _thin air_  and stopped the attacks dead in their tracks. The hedgehog blinked at the balls that stuck to the pane of…air, he guessed, and the tongue that was trapped by the cluster of sticky spheres.

"Shoji, stop running! I'm stuck! Mineta-"

"I-It's not my fault alright! I didn't know they'd conjure up some weird shield thingy!"

Sonic watched as his team left the solidified air behind, Mineta and his group focusing on dislodging the girl instead of chasing them. He couldn't hold back his grin, regarding Tsuburaba, "That's your quirk?" Shinso had told him that it was called solid air, but he didn't think it would be like  _this!_ "You can protect yourself anytime, anywhere like that?"

Tsuburaba clearly appreciated his enthusiasm, sending him a confident smile. "It gets harder if I'm out of breath, but pretty much, yeah."

"Don't tell him the details of your quirk!" Monoma admonished, giving his classmate a pointed look. "When we make it to the final round, we don't want to give  _any_  advantages to those 1-A lose-"

Sonic stopped him then and there, realizing that ignoring the problem wouldn't make it go away. "Look, pal. If you insult my class again, I'm gonna take this five million and throw it to the nearest team. Got it?" Even though he hadn't known his fellow students for long yet, undermining them like that wasn't going to fly.

Monoma's disbelieving gaze met his, but he saw some concern swirling underneath the surface. "Really? You would throw away the chance to make a name for yourself just to-"

Sonic reached up to untie the bandana, and the blonde wisely quieted.

Tsuburaba was a mix of wary and amused. "No offense Monoma, but yeah, just shut up about A for a bit."

Shinso wasn't as entertained. He sighed. "Should've picked better teammates…"

Sonic sent both him and the sulking blonde a cheery smile. Well, Tsuburaba was fine, and Monoma  _had_  been a problem, but it was fixed. "It's all good now! Right, Monoma?"

The copycat rolled his eyes. "I'm just building up my arsenal until after we finish this battle, I hope you realize that."

Sonic shrugged. The guy could smack talk all he wanted later; he wouldn't be hearing it then.

"Hope that you don't get bad first impressions of us, Sonic!" At the call of his name, the hedgehog glanced left to see a group of his classmates carrying…nothing? Oh wait…there was a headband floating in midair. Huh. Espio would probably love to meet this girl. "But we'll be taking that five million!"

"Really?" Sonic smirked, flashing his pearly whites at the ones on their tail. Let's see what they had to offer. "Show me what ya got!"

The girl with short hair leading the group chuckled. "Famous last words." Then, her  _earlobes_ swiftly expanded and aimed for him like weird tentacles. However, like before, an air shield blocked the attack. But  _not_  like before, it was Monoma who blew the air, the pane was out quite a distance from the team it was protecting – closer to invisible girl's than Sonic's – and uh…apparently it was too close to dodge at their speed.

See-through girl shouted out in shock, and Sonic winced at the sound of the sharp smack. She had been carried head-first into it. The group lost their grip on her, two of them yelling, "Hagakure!" as she fell backwards.

The only signs of the girl hitting the ground were her groans and the pile of dust surrounding her.

"Uh oh, everyone!" The announcer's voice boomed from above. "Hagakure is down! That, my friends, is what we call a disqualification!"

Sonic frowned a bit at that, it caused both by the announcement and Monoma's quiet snicker. They were leaving the downcast team behind. "Did you really have to-"

"It's less competition." Monoma shrugged. "Is it so wrong to increase our odds of winning?"

It  _wasn't_ , but he could have at least let Hagakure's team have fun too.

"Don't think about that too much," Shinso cut in, voice low and sharp. "Because they've caught up to us."

"Who?" Sonic looked at the tired teen before following his gaze backwards. His cryptic words rung true, for Bakugo's group was behind them now, the blonde basically frothing at the mouth.

Though, while this new development was pretty interesting, something else behind the incoming doom caught his eye. That something was Todoroki's team. The group of four wasn't moving, and the heterochromatic boy was staring in Sonic's direction, looking between him and Bakugo.

Then, the dual haired guy turned his stare skyward, where Midoriya's team was flying with a jet pack, a giant shadow monster projecting itself out of Tokoyami's stomach.

Sonic pinched himself and no, he wasn't dreaming. Okay. Just checking.

Iida, the one in front, asked Todoroki a question the hedgehog couldn't hear. Todoroki glanced Sonic's way one last time before answering. His group took off in Deku's direction.

…Leaving them with Bakugo, huh? Sonic had to admit that it was a smart play on their part.

"And the difficulty for this game suddenly skyrockets." Tsuburaba released an uneasy laugh. "Knew that it couldn't be smooth sailing for long. And guess what else? We're heading for the edge of the arena too."

"What?" Sonic, Monoma, and Shinso faced forward in a hurry to confirm that yes, they would soon run out-of-bounds if they didn't change direction soon.

Sonic realized that they had two options: make a hard right, that sent them where most of the other teams were and risk getting their five mil snatched, or make a hard left, which led them into a corner with Bakugo's group trapping them.

Monoma produced an air wall behind them, and the trailing team easily sidestepped it with Bakugo shouting, "Nice try, jackass!"

Shinso was the first to vote. "I say left."

Tsuburaba blinked back at him. "Are you crazy? I'd rather deal with  _everyone_ else than with that psychopath!"

"We have a better chance of dodging Blasty than dodging all those other groups."

Sonic stifled a snicker. Blasty? That  _almost_ replaced Kacchan as Bakugo's nickname.

Monoma was hesitant to nod. "Get over your fear, Tsuburaba. He's not that scary. He's just a-" He paused when Sonic rose a brow at him, urging the blonde to continue. Monoma huffed. "Just go left."

"I'm not  _scared_ of him, just the future of my wellbeing," Tsuburaba mumbled before addressing Sonic. "What do you say?"

Sonic grinned. He was going to have fun either way. "Doesn't matter to me!"

The brunette slumped in defeat before veering left, hugging the white line.

"Well, I hope you guys have a plan to get out of this…" Tsuburaba uttered, slowing down because of the upcoming corner.

Monoma was quick to reassure him. "Of course we do. Hedgehog, it's safe to say that your legs are strong…" Sonic nodded at him, wondering where he was going with this. Grey eyes swiveled to the other team before his lips twitched upwards. "How confident are you in your ability to jump over their heads?"

Shinso furrowed his brow, not completely for this plan. "Wait, sure he's fast, but that doesn't mean-"

"Heck yeah it does!" Sonic placated him, grin splitting his face in half.

Shinso looked indecisive, but then he shrugged. "Do whatever. But if we lose…"

"We won't!" Sonic gave him a thumbs up. "Guaranteed!" If he could clear a canyon, this would be no problem.

Tsuburaba shook his head, but excitement shined in his eyes. "I hope you're right!"

The group eventually slowed down to a stop, reaching the corner of the field. They all turned around as one and were face-to-face with Kacchan's team.

Bakugo was glaring death at him, dirt stains still on his face and dust in his hair. Kirishima was more determined than enraged, along with Ashido and Weird elbows, smirking like they had already won this. Little did they know.

"Time to  _die_ ," Kacchan snarled, small explosions popping in his palms.

Sonic held up a hand, not worried at all. "Wait, before we get started-" He pointed at the spiky black-haired guy. "What's your name? Haven't caught it before!"

The boy blinked before smiling. "Hanta Sero-"

"Who cares?!" Bakugo barked out, fire raging in his eyes. "The only thing that fucking matters is taking back my damned first place!"

Shinso's tone was mocking. "The bandana doesn't have  _your_  name on it."

While the blonde seethed, Kirishima admitted, "He has a point, bro."

Bakugo pounded on his suddenly hard head, minimizing damage. "I don't give a shit!"

Sonic chuckled. "Bein' that angry all the time  _can't_  be healthy, Kacchan."

Ashido barely stifled a laugh as Bakugo roared, producing more explosions.

"Like I said, a brat."

Sonic's ear twitched, and he peered down at Monoma. "What was that?"

"Nothing."  _Sure_  it wasn't.

"If we're going to do something, guys, we need to do it soon," Tsuburaba said quietly. "Others are noticing and coming over."

Sonic peeked around Bakugo's team and noticed that multiple pairs of eyes were focused in their direction. Mineta's group had freed themselves and were coming their way. A couple of 1-B's teams were doing the same, and Monoma subtly tensed.

Sonic figured he'd have more time to tease later. "Get ready," he whispered before saying louder, "Welp, I'd love to talk more, but we've got five million points to protect and all." Sonic bent his knees and made sure he had good footing on the arms he was squatting on. He saluted the confused looks before launching himself high enough into the air.

He laughed at the rush of wind whipping at his face. Sparkling emerald orbs peered down at his sailed over Kacchan's team. Like he expected, three members were flabbergasted while one was absolutely furious.

But, what he didn't expect was for Bakugo to take off after him.

Oh right…he could fly.

The blonde separated from his team with a blast, propelling himself through the air like a rocket. "You're not getting away from me!" Bakugo loudly spat, closing in in no time. He held one hand out, ready to grab. "Give me the damn-!"

"Nope!" Bakugo should've known better to think it would be that easy. He'd learn not to underestimate Sonic the hedgehog! "Gotta try harder!" The blue speedster spun around mid-air and kicked the kid's side hard enough to veer him off course with a surprised curse.

Kacchan resembled a ticked off cat as he fell, and Sonic wondered for a moment if he was going to hit the ground and get disqualified as well. However, he had no reason to worry, for something like  _tape_  wrapped around the boy's midsection and pulled him right back to his team.

The tape belonged to Sero, and  _that's_  why his elbows were shaped like that.

"Nice catch!" Ashido praised.

"Thanks!"

Sonic was falling at this point, and his own team was running right there under him, ready to catch. The hedgehog landed in the middle of connected arms, the trio of students grunting upon impact. They kept running though to put as much distance they could between them and Bakugo.

"You okay, man?"

"Don't worry about me, shitty hair! Chase after them!"

Sonic chuckled, watching as the other team picked up speed. "That was fun!"

"I almost had a heart attack!" Tsuburaba opposed. "Can we not ever do something like that again?"

"No promises!" Sonic grinned.

"As long as we avoid corners, we should be good." Shinso spoke up before eying Sonic. "Unless you're one of those adrenaline junkies and decide to be jump happy the rest of this game."

The brunette almost begged. "Please don't."

"Just keep a good hold on him, and he can't do anywhere." Monoma suggested haughtily. "Simple as that."

Sonic puffed out his cheeks. "You guys are no fu-"

"You thought that we were out of the picture, didn't you? Well you thought wrong! Ah ha ha!"

It was Mineta again. Shoji was running at them with his passengers, and it was going to be a head-on collision if someone didn't turn.

Sonic chortled out loud. "You guys are back, huh? Don't know when to give up?" he asked the shadows, while Shoji himself remained silent for some reason.

"Since when do heroes give up, ribbit?" the frog girl questioned from inside.

"Never!" was the answering screech before more purple balls were hurled at Sonic's head.

Sonic didn't even try to dodge, for a shield was up before any made contact, courtesy of Tsuburaba. The team sidestepped the air wall, and Sonic was met with a tongue an inch from his face.

The hedgehog gasped as it managed to wrap around his headband. His hand shot up and grabbed the muscle – he couldn't be happier that he was wearing gloves – and fought to keep the girl from taking their points.

"Asui! You got it!  _Pull!_ "

"What does it look like I'm doing?"

Shinso was scowling. "Sonic, get her off of it!"

"I'm trying!" It wasn't his fault that her tongue was unexplainably strong!

"Keep still for a second." Monoma was surprisingly calm, and Sonic attempted to do what he said with the frog girl – Asui if he heard right – pulling like her life was on the line.

Out of the corner of his eye, Sonic saw the blonde hold up a hand that was dripping with some unknown substance. He then splashed a couple drops on the tongue, and the muscle instantly recoiled, letting go and snapping back into the shadows.

Shoji slowed down, and Sonic's team ran by them as the hedgehog adjusted his headband in relief.

Shoji finally spoke, but it didn't come from his mouth. "Are you alright?"

"I am, but my tongue hurts and I don't feel safe doing that again."

"Don't worry about it, Asui!" Mineta comforted. "Leave it to me!"

The balls were now coming from behind, but it wasn't a problem for Monoma, who conjured up more shields.

Sonic turned to the blonde, asking, "What in the world was that?" while hoping that Asui wasn't hurt too badly back there.

"It was the pink-haired girl's quirk," Monoma answered with a grin, making good use of his borrowed quirk. No sticky sphere was getting anywhere close. "Some kind of acid."

Sonic gaped. "You put  _acid_  on her  _tongue?!_  That's-!"

"Calm down, Speedy." Shinso advised, and the hedgie didn't know what to make of the nickname. "She didn't sound seriously hurt. She'll live."

Yeah, she didn't  _seem_  hurt. It was only a couple of drops from what he could tell, but…he guessed that he could let it go. That was Monoma's second strike though. He was watching him.

"Get out of the  _way_ , Arms!"

Sonic's ears twitched at the shout and the accompanying blast following it. However, before he could check back there, Tsuburaba yelled out, "Glue! Everyone stop!"

Sonic was glad his team had reasonable reflexes too, because yes, there  _was_  glue all in their path. And more was being added by his guy with a  _very_  weirdly shaped head.

"Bondo!" Monoma shouted almost accusingly.

Though, Sonic had stopped paying attention to them when the beginning of a tape strand landed right beside his team. He didn't get a chance to think about that before numerous explosions sounded behind him. And they were getting  _closer._

Sonic barely turned his head to notice acid on the ground, tape, sliding feet, and an angry Bakugo before a hand was forcefully digging in his quills. Instinctively, he bristled his spines and heard the resulting pained curse.

"Gah! Dammit!"

Kacchan's team sped past them and ended up stuck in the glue. Sonic quickly reached up and felt for his bandana. It was still there. He exhaled harshly. That was  _too_  close.

Then he watched as Bakugo held his hand close to his body, the rest of his teammates concerned about them being stuck. Sonic felt a pang of guilt as his group ran away from the scene and to an emptier area, an air shield stopping the glue-wielder from following too closely. Bakugo shouldn't have anything more serious than paper cuts, but even  _those_  were a pain and a half.

"Those quills of yours are a gift!" Tsuburaba briefly chuckled. "Jeez, we could've lost the five million just now!"

"Yeah, we were there." Shinso drawled, though he did look happy as well. However, the ghost of a smile he had waned at Sonic's concerned expression. "Stop being so worried all the time. They've been through worse. You know about that villain attack at USJ?"

Sonic cocked his head, not knowing what in the heck the other was talking about. "At the what?"

"The Unforeseen Simulation Joint." Monoma piped up, rolling his eyes a second time. "Class 1-A ran into some big bad villains there. Poor them."

"They got hurt?"

"Minor injuries." Shinso retook control of the conversation, sending the blonde an unreadable look. "Except for Aizawa. He looks the way he does now because he got roughed up."

Sonic blinked and shifted his attention to the commentator box. Aizawa was covered from head to toe in bandages. What in the heck happened to him? He could stop quirks, right? So-

This train of thought got derailed by screaming.

All of them looked over to the center of the arena, where they had just been. Sonic's breath hitched at the sight of lightning electrocuting most of the other teams on the field, including Bakugo's. The hedgehog struggled to find the source and saw that Kaminari was doing it.

Todoroki's team had ran – no  _skated_  – through and immobilized the students both chasing Deku's group and the ones who were unsuspecting.

There was some kind of strange cloth covering the rest of Roki's members until Kaminari was done, and then Todoroki's ice covered the ground behind them, trapping the twitching students.

Sonic was speechless, observing as Midoriya's team was backed up close to the white perimeter of the arena. Then, without warning, a tall icy wall surrounded the two teams, shielding them from view.

The hedgehog's team had stopped moving at this point. Sonic gaped like a fish for a moment. He watched as everyone struggled to get out of the ice. Bakugo's team was relying on Ashido's acid to melt them out, and the boys were protecting their points by guarding from any potential attacks.

Once Sonic could scrape his chin off the ground, he smirked, zeroing in on the towering ice. "Hey Monoma, can you still use that acid?"

The blonde frowned at him, narrowing his eyes. "For about forty-five more seconds. Why?"

Sonic couldn't stop himself from bouncing. "Let's go see what Deku and Roki are doing!"

Tsuburaba took a second to find his words. "W-Why in the  _world_  would you want to? We're good! Most of the others are trapped and-"

"And that's  _boring!_  It's not like we're gonna get our headband stolen or anything!"

"Okay, look! Bakugo is going to get out in like thirty seconds, so can't we just-"

"Come on? Please? We could be missing awesome action!"

"But-"

"You two are giving me a  _headache._ " Shinso interjected, rubbing a temple with his free hand. "I didn't get enough sleep for this," he mumbled before declaring, "Let's just go because he won't shut up about it."

"Might as well." Monoma agreed, and Tsuburaba looked at him with betrayal in his eyes. "Look at it like this, we get to see what kind of moves that will be used in the next round, and we can adapt. We want to blow A out of the water, don't we?"

Sonic pursed his lips. That wasn't  _exactly_  an insult.

The brunette didn't answer him. He simply ran ahead, the other two keeping pace. Sonic heard a word or two about disloyalty in the form of a mutter.

They made it over to the wall in no time, and Monoma swiftly raised his unoccupied arm that was secreting the same liquid from earlier. Some of it ate away at his sleeve. With a grunt, he whipped his arm, and glob of the stuff hit the ice. A hole formed almost instantly with steam disappearing in the air.

Sonic was going to high-five him, but he rethought it. With acid being bad for skin and all.

The hole was tight, but they all squeezed through. Surprised mismatched eyes met Sonic's just as a voice shouted, "Torque Over… _Reciproburst!_ "

Sonic's attention was drawn to the red-hot engines on Iida's legs that spouted red then  _blue_ flames. Sonic blinked and soon regretted it because now Todoroki's team was on the  _other_  side of the closed in space, a long trail of exhaust dissipating in the air.

Deku's team, the obvious target of Iida's stunt, was completely stunned.

"Holy shit." Shinso breathed out, awe in his tone.

"Yeah, that times ten," Tsuburaba's words were barely heard over the crowd in the stands and the out-going announcer.

Monoma hummed to himself. "That's nothing special." Even he failed to completely smother his own shock.

A smirk grew on Sonic's muzzle. There it was.  _That_  was what he was waiting for. He was looking forward to races even more now!

"Did you get it?" Iida was half crouched, smoke rising from his legs. His glasses glinted as he regarded the rider. When the addressed did nothing but glance down at his empty hands, pony-tail girl and Kaminari looking worried behind him, Iida tried again. "Todoroki?"

"I…" He clenched and unclenched his fists, brows pinched together in muted frustration. "I didn't-"

"He missed!" Deku cried out in relief, tears welling up in his eyes, his hair in disarray. His teammates blinked up at him in shock, the boy feeling for the headband, double-checking that it was still there. "We…We still got it!"

Uraraka cheered, the girl with goggles did a little dance with her feet, and Tokoyami cracked a smile with his happy shadow-monster thing in front of him. "We mustn't celebrate too early," the bird boy told his group. "There still is time left."

"What…What happened?" Kaminari asked with a frown. He wildly gestured in Midoriya's direction. "They were just sitting ducks! Was Iida too fast or wh-"

Todoroki met Sonic's gaze again, and he was almost taken aback with the amount of anger present. It was a different type than Bakugo's; his was hot and explosive anger, but Todoroki's was ice cold, and for a second Sonic  _almost_  regretted showing his face.

"I got distracted." His voice was level and empty and oh  _boy_  was the next round going to be something.

"Distract – Oh."

It was at that point that Kaminari found them, along with everyone else in the closed space.

Deku and Uraraka brightened. "Sonic!" A smile pulled at the corner of the former's lips. "You…Do you still have your-?"

Sonic pointed to his bandana. "Of course!" He put a hand on his hip. "And it looks like we came just in time for you to keep yours, yeah?"

Midoriya nodded. "Yeah, I-"

"Yaoyorozu! Kaminari!"

Those were the last two words Sonic heard before electricity seized his muscles. Broken yells from his teammates reached his ears, and he gritted his teeth to keep from doing the same.

His body was rigid as the volts course through his veins, the pain clouding his thoughts. He didn't succumb to it however – but falling unconscious seemed like a  _great_  idea right about now – and peeling his eyes open, having closed them when he was first hit.

It was hard to make anything out with everything being yellow and his brain practically screaming at him, but he saw the shadow-monster protecting Deku's group and Todoroki approaching the hedgie's team with a stumbling Iida leading. They had that same cloth as before covering three of them.

Sonic panted as he struggled to hold his head up, limbs starting to tremble. This had to be way harder for the trio beneath him who had to remain standing  _while_  holding him.

It was an awesome quirk, but  _man_  it was terrible being on the receiving end of it.

When the onslaught ended, Sonic barely got a chance to catch his breath before a pair of hands were in his face. The hedgie gasped as he grabbed Todoroki's wrists with shaky fingers, trying to push the other away.

Sonic fought through the pain and managed a twitching grin. "R-Really want this five m-mil, huh?"

Todoroki remained silent, his eyes narrowing and efforts increasing.

If fighting the other off with jerky limbs wasn't enough, now his right hand was being put through a furnace, and his left tossed right into the coldest freezer. As much as his mind told him  _let go, you idiot_ , he knew that he couldn't. They've made it this far!

And plus, he didn't want to give Tsuburaba the satisfaction of being right.

So Sonic held on, as one glove froze and the other blackened, as one hand shivered and the other burnt.

Okay…okay maybe he  _should_  let go because no amount of points was worth-

"Time's up!"

Within a second, everything was gone. The cold, the heat, Todoroki's presence, all gone.

"And with that, the second round is officially over!" The announcer's voice boomed.

Tsuburaba, Shinso, and Monoma, still recovering from the shock of their lives, set him safely on his feet. Sonic paid no attention to his cold hand, lowly hissing as he peeled his charred glove away to reveal a nasty burn.

"Th-That looks bad," Shinso said beside him, limbs occasionally twitching and giving Roki a dirty look as the other hopped to the ground.

"I've had worse!" Sonic responded because truthfully he had, but that didn't mean this wasn't painful though.

Tsuburaba cringed away from the sight, and Monoma crossed his arms. "Yeah, people hold 1-A on such a high pedestal and yet they do this." Sonic opened his mouth, but the blonde cut him off. "Battle's over, so I can say whatever comes to mind."

Sonic just sighed and refrained from poking his injured palm.

The commentator – didn't Aizawa call him Present Mic? – continued, "Now let's take a look at who our top four teams are! Oh wow, look at this! Like with the obstacle course, we have a tie! The teams tied with five million each are Team Midoriya and Team Sonic!"

The azure speedster beamed over to the green-haired student, but he was only meet with a worried expression. Deku glanced between him and Todoroki, who was glaring at the ground.

"Though I don't  _remember_  teaming up with you two…" Sonic and Shinso faced Monoma. The blonde shrugged. "I guess I could've ended up with worse members."

Tsuburaba rolled his eyes. "Which translates to 'I'm glad we won with your help'. Even if you're crazy sometimes." That last part was an afterthought, aimed at Sonic.

"It was great workin' with you guys too!" Sonic smiled. "Would definitely do it again!"

Monoma scoffed. "I didn't say all of  _that._ "

Shinso shoved his hands in his pockets and simply exhaled.

"In second place, Team Todoroki!"

The leader remained silent while Iida clenched a fist. "This is all my fault! I should've given Todoroki a better warning or-"

Yaoyorozu shook her head, softly smiling. "You didn't do anything wrong! It was out of your hands. And well, second place isn't so bad, right?"

Kaminari, who seemed to lose a  _ton_  of IQ points since that last discharge, made random noises while giving her a thumbs up.

"And in third place is Team Bakugo!"

Said blonde's enraged yell from mid-field was heard by everyone.

In the corner of his eye, Sonic saw the goggled girl remove a glued up jet pack from Deku and weird shoes from Uraraka. Was she from the support course or something? If so, Tails would  _love_  to be put in there.

"These four valiant teams will advance on to the final round! Now, let's take an hour lunch break before we start the afternoon festivities! See you soon!"

Todoroki was the first to depart, not saying a word. After a moment, Monoma and Tsuburaba headed for the exit of the arena as well, the brunette curtly waving before doing so.

Shinso watched them go before subtly smirking at the speedster. "See you in the next round. It's everyone for themselves then." His purple eyes dropped to his red palm. "You should get that checked out."

Sonic returned the smirk. "You should be more worried about how you're gonna win than my health, yeah? I'll be fine, but you on the other hand…"

Shinso scoffed good-naturedly before nodding a goodbye and leaving.

Yaoyorozu threw him a sorry smile as she ushered a babbling Kaminari out, Tokoyami silently nodding as he followed them, his shadow-monster nowhere in sight.

Deku and Uraraka ran over to Sonic, Iida stepping closer. The goggled girl was too busy messing with her gadgets.

"Though I am disappointed…" Iida began, "I am glad that we all move on to the next round together."

"Me too!" Uraraka agreed before sobering up. She frowned at Sonic's hand. "Todoroki went too far…"

Midoriya chewed his bottom lip. "I don't think he meant to…he was just in the heat of moment, you know?"

Sonic inwardly chuckled.  _Heat_  of the moment. "I'm not mad! It's just a minor burn!"

"You call that minor?" Iida gestured at his injury in a robotic way. "You need to get to Recovery Girl as soon as possible! As class president, I should escort you-"

Sonic waved him off. "You don't have to! It's no big deal. I know where her room is, and you guys need to get some lunch!"

Midoriya was hesitant. "If you're sure…"

"Positive!"

Uraraka put her hands on her hips. "I guess that's settled." Concern was still etched in her features though. She took a step toward the exit, motioning for Iida and Deku to follow. "But if you're not in the lunchroom in thirty minutes, we're searching for you, got it?"

Sonic snickered. "Yeah, yeah. Go on before they run out of the good stuff!"

The trio sent him smiles as they left, and he protected his hand as he made his way back to the nurse's office.

* * *

"Didn't I say not to come back too soon?"

Sonic laughed as he entered the familiar room, going over to sit on his previously occupied bed. The question wasn't completely serious, Mrs. RG smiling as she said it. He held his hands up innocently. "Don't blame me!"

"I know, dear." The old lady shuffled over with a roll of gauze and some ointment. "I saw what happened." She held out her hand, and Sonic placed his on hers, palm up. "I honestly believed that the Bakugo boy would be the cause of this, not Todoroki."

Sonic snorted, understanding. "Yeah, I can see that. But it is kinda cool that he's half-cold and half-hot."

The woman hummed as she applied the burn cream. Sonic withheld a wince at the sting. "I suppose."

Sonic tapped his chin with his naked hand – going gloveless was weird, but he had clothes on so it wasn't  _that_  weird – pondering aloud, "But…has he used his fire side at all yet? Besides burning me?" He chuckled as he recalled ice, ice, and more ice. "I haven't, have you?"

Recovery Girl was gently wrapping his hand now. "I don't believe that I have, dear."

Before Sonic could think about that some more, the door to the room was kicked open. The hedgie jumped a bit at the sudden action, but Recovery Girl calmly looked behind her.

Bakugo was standing in the doorway, his hand littered with small cuts at his side. As soon as emeralds met scarlets, mini-explosions echoed around the room.

If looks could kill, Sonic would've been a pile of ashes.

The old lady pointed to one of the empty beds. "Sit right there, Bakugo. I'll take care of you in a moment."

The blonde 'tched' before listening, dropping down on the bed unceremoniously.

Sonic knew that it wasn't a good idea, but, "Hey Kacchan, sorry about that-"

"If you don't shut your ass up  _right now_ , I'll fuck your shit up so fucking bad-"

Well. At least he tried.

Recovery Girl tisked. "Language, child."

"Screw you, you aren't my damn mother," Bakugo muttered under his breath.

The woman shook her head in exasperation before finishing up Sonic's hand. Then, she puckered her lips that grew  _twice_  their size and was aiming for his cheek. Just  _what._

Sonic warily leaned away. "Uh…"

RG wasn't offended. She giggled. "This is my quirk. It's what helped you before."

Oh great. " _That's_  how you activate it?"

"Yes. The only way."

Sonic groaned and accepted his fate. The kiss wasn't so bad. It was something grandmas would do, it just…covered like half his face.

The hedgie hopped off the bed and smiled, waiting to wipe his cheek until after he left. "Thanks, Mrs. RG!"

She returned the warm expression. "No problem, dear." He waved and was about to leave, but her next words stopped him. "Do you know how to get to the lunchroom?"

Sonic should've thought about that earlier. "Nope…"

"In that case, maybe you should wait until I'm done with Bakugo here so he can-"

"No."

Sonic would've put money on that if he could. "Just give me the general directions. I'm sure I can figure it out!"

The lady gathered supplies to work on the blonde. "From the arena, just keep left and I'm sure you'll see other students heading there too."

Sonic nodded as he opened the door. "Okay! Thanks again!"

"Don't get too hurt out there, little one."

He winked. "No promises!" Sonic stepped out of the nurse's office and shut the door behind him, rubbing his cheek. He kinda felt bad about leaving her alone with Bakugo, but he figured that this wasn't her first time dealing with him. He walked away, whistling a low tune.

His mind drifted to the upcoming event as his shoes thudded against the floor. He wondered what exactly it was going to be. Shinso hinted that there wouldn't be any teams like the obstacle course, but it couldn't be another one of those, right?

As much as he would like to think about that some more, he pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind when he got the strong feeling that he was being watched.

Sonic ceased his stride, ears perking straight up. He gazed down the hallway he was in before peering over his shoulder. His eyes snapped to the culprit instantly.

Todoroki was leaning against the wall of an adjacent hall where Sonic couldn't have seen him if he just had strolled on by.

They held each other's gaze for a second. Sonic turned around and smiled, absently scratching the bandages on his hand. "Hey, Roki. Need something?"

The heterochromatic boy didn't say anything for the longest, just staring and letting the atmosphere grow heavy. When he eventually spoke, it was straight to the point. "I need to speak with you."

Sonic tilted his head. First he burned him, and now he wanted to have a nice conversation? Yeah, that's totally normal. The hedgehog patted his stomach and jabbed a thumb where he had been going. "Wanna talk over lunch? Kinda starvin' here!"

"It has to be somewhere private." Todoroki's gaze didn't sway. "It won't take long."

Sonic subtly tapped his foot. "But-"

"Please."

That made Sonic pause. He couldn't really decline now, could he?

"Since you asked so nicely…"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Todoroki wants to have a talk, huh? But is it THE talk? Only time will tell...


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the tournament begins.

Sonic had no idea where he was. Todoroki had been dragging him along through hallway after hallway for a good handful of minutes, and his stomach was in the process of making its own language. He had no idea what IcyHot wanted to talk to him about, but it was steadily dropping in priority as Sonic imagined all the food available to him in the cafeteria.

They had been quiet the whole journey. Sonic had attempted light conversation, but Roki just kept walking like _he_ wasn't the one who asked _Sonic_ to tag along. But it was fine because he decided to speak up after they turned yet another corner.

Sonic paused in his stride, putting his unharmed hand on his hip. "Hey, Roki." Todoroki slowed to a stop as well, turning his head just enough to send a slightly questioning look back over his shoulder. "Are we gonna talk or not?" Sonic gestured at the empty hallway, nothing in it but them and closed doors. "I'm startin' to get hungry, and I'm sure a search crew is going to come after me if we don't get this show on the road."

The heterochromatic kid stared at Sonic for a long moment before facing him, his hands hidden in his pockets. His harsh exhale was nearly inaudible, gaze steely. "Who are you to All Might?"

Sonic slowly blinked. He had been expecting 'I'm sorry about your hand' or even 'How do I get to be as cool as you are?', not _that._ The hedgehog's brow creased. "Uh...what do you-"

"Did he take you under his wing as an apprentice?"

Sonic's mind raced. This conversation might be a little problem. If Todoroki asked too much about his 'life' out of school, he was kinda screwed. "Nope! Where'd you get that idea from?"

"You're the only student to be recommended by him, and coincidentally, I've noticed that he and Midoriya are close as well." The boy's voice remained even, and Sonic figured that he _had_ to be great at poker. "I have theories about Midoriya, but you…"

Sonic held his hands up innocently. "What you're sayin' is news to me! I didn't know that about Deku, and well, All Might just saw my awesomeness and couldn't resist!" Sonic grinned, mentally patting himself on the back. "Why do you care so much to drag me out in the middle of nowhere?"

Todoroki eyed him, his permanent frown deepening. "There's something you're not telling me." Before Sonic could fumble for an explanation, the boy continued, "All Might hadn't recommended a student before ever, so you must have a connection with him." His expression grew intense. "I will beat both you and Midoriya in this competition."

Sonic's grin morphed into a smirk. He didn't know if Todoroki had a vendetta against All Might, Deku, or both, but he was definitely up for the challenge. "You can _try_ , Roki. But so you know, you're gonna need bite to back up your bark there."

"I could say the same to you."

Sonic chuckled to himself. Oh he _definitely_ had the bite; Roki was just going to have to see for himself. "So...we done here now?" Could he go and scarf as much food down as possible?

Todoroki didn't say anything for a moment — this guy loved dramatic pauses, didn't he? — until his expression subtly softened. It wasn't much. The frown wasn't going away anytime soon, but it was something. "I also wanted to apologize."

"Huh?" The statement took a second to register. Sonic examined his bandaged hand before shrugging. "It's fine! Nothing I couldn't handle!"

For the first time, Roki broke eye contact, glaring at a nearby wall with his jaw clenched. "You shouldn't have had to," he said lowly, words sharp. Any softness was gone by this point. "I wasn't supposed to use my left. I acted on impulse, and I'm sorry."

Sonic had a suspicion that this wasn't just about his hand. "Don't beat yourself up about it, okay? I accept your apology!" When Todoroki didn't answer, Sonic glanced down at his palm once more before shifting his attention to the scar on the boy's face. It looked like it had once been a bad burn, and Sonic carefully ventured, "Why don't you want to use your hot side? Is it because of your burn?"

Todoroki's whole body went rigid at that, and the hedgehog backpedaled, seeing that he'd crossed an unknown line.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't wanna," Sonic placated, keeping a genial smile on his muzzle. He'd just met the guy; he had no right to snoop. Not yet, anyway. "I was just wonderin'. Your ice is more than enough anyway because _wow._ " Roki was looking back at him now, the glare gone. Sonic then tapped his chin, a thought coming to him. "Do you ever get cold, though?"

Todoroki's eyebrows furrowed. "Cold?"

"Yeah! Like, do you get cold when you use your ice, or does your fire side take care of it?"

"...I can regulate my body temperature."

Sonic wished that he could do that. He'd go sledding _way_ more often. "Summers and winters don't bother you, huh? Lucky!" Todoroki looked the slightest bit perplexed, and Sonic was glad that he had more than two emotions. "And I bet everyone likes you around when it's hot. You could be a portable sprinkler system too!"

All signs of the previous All Might conversation was gone from Todoroki's face. He was staring at Sonic like he'd grown a second head. "A sprinkler system?"

"I mean, or a hose. But that's less fun."

Something must've turned on in the boy's mind, because he lifted his hands from his pockets and gazed at them incredulously. Sonic put the puzzle pieces together easily enough. "Whoa whoa...wait! You're tellin' me that you have a fire and ice quirk, and you haven't tried to make _water?_ "

"I…" Todoroki flexed his fingers before clenching them. His heterochromatic eyes met Sonic's curious emeralds once more, many emotions swirling inside before clouding up. The boy's lips thinned as he straightened. "I'll take you to the cafeteria."

Sonic was confident that the other just had an epiphany, but he couldn't be positive because he was sure Roki hadn't smiled once in his life. "Okay?" Though, the boy had been walking away before he had opened his mouth.

They walked in silence again, but somehow, it was less tense than before.

* * *

Sonic was thanking his lucky stars that he had been dropped near this school because the cafeteria had _hot dogs_ and _chili_. That was all he needed. His day was made. Nothing could bring his mood down now.

The hedgehog had grabbed a tray alone — Todoroki hadn't entered with him, instead going off somewhere else — and strolled over to the food line with a pep in his step. The line wasn't moving slow, but it wasn't going as fast as he would like either.

While he waited, Sonic took in his surroundings, ears picking up the loud chatter of endless students. There were so many people of different shapes and sizes either looking for seats or chowing down on their lunches. Most of the tables, from what he could see, were taken by this point.

He tried to search for Deku and his crew, but this was the one of the few times that his height did no favors for him. It was hard to see through the moving mass of people. Oh well. He'd spot them sooner or later.

When it was his turn, Sonic had to stand on his tiptoes to order three fat chili dogs. The chef obliged, and he nearly drooled as the amazing smell hit his nose. Eager to eat, Sonic searched for a free table or for people he recognized.

His eyes found crazy purple hair, and he grinned. Weaving through a group of meandering students, Sonic cocked his head a bit at the sight of Shinso sitting alone at a small table.

A tired stare shifted from a sandwich to Sonic's approach. Shinso rose a brow, and when Sonic took the seat across from him, he asked, "Don't want to sit with your hero friends?"

Sonic took a large bite of his chili dog because that took priority before answering, "Nah, I'll get to hang with them more later on!" He made sure to close his mouth while chewing when Shinso slid his tray away. "And plus, I couldn't really find 'em in this huge place."

The general studies student nodded as he took a chunk out of his sandwich.

Sonic finished his first dog quickly — probably too quickly with how Shinso was looking at him — before questioning the other's loneliness. "Why were you sittin' here by yourself?"

Shinso shrugged, picking up a fry. "Let's just say that the people in my class don't absolutely adore my quirk like you do."

"Seriously?" Sonic didn't get that at all. He could stop villains at the drop of a dime! Wait...but that also meant he could do the same to heroes… Sonic chewed thoughtfully before swallowing. "Do they have a particular reason _why_ they don't like your quirk?"

Shinso looked a little too innocent as he sipped some water. "Probably."

"Shinso-!"

"What? Some of them are asses."

Sonic sighed, rolling his eyes. Then, in the corner of his eye, he saw a shock of green. He glanced in that direction, finding Deku, Iida, and Uraraka putting away their trays. They seemed a bit worried. However, Midoriya surveyed the area and eventually met his gaze. Sonic waved, and Deku waved back, along with the other two. It was safe to say that they wouldn't go searching for him now.

The trio walked off, and Sonic refocused on Shinso, who was watching them leave. "Well…" The speedster worked on his last chili dog. "You won't have to worry about those classmates of yours for too long."

Shinso leaned back in his seat, one side of his lips curved up. "You're that sure that I'll make it to the hero course?"

"Heck yeah, I am! I'm not sure if you know, but your quirk is _brainwashing._ "

"Mind saying that louder? I don't think the whole cafeteria heard you."

Sonic huffed, finishing up his plate. "I wasn't _that_ loud..."

"To the deaf, maybe." Sonic inwardly cheered when he managed to hit Shinso on the nose with a large bread crumb. The brainwasher tisked. "How old are you again?" Sonic stuck his tongue out at him, and that probably didn't help the age argument. Shinso shook his head in mock-exasperation before nodding to his hand. "It's all fixed up?"

Sonic moved his hand all around. The bandages were basically just for show at this point. "Yep! Almost like it never got hurt in the first place!"

"Good."

Sonic peered over at the forgotten fries on the other's tray. "You gonna eat those?"

Shinso slid them over without any fuss.

* * *

"...it's almost time for the last round! But before that, good news for everyone who didn't make the finals! Since this is a sports festival, we prepared super fun side games everyone can participate in!"

Those were the words Sonic heard as he reentered the arena with a full content stomach. Almost all of the other students were back on the field, which made sense, for the cafeteria had almost been emptied out by the time when he and Shinso left.

They would've been out here earlier, but Sonic _had_ to get a second helping of chili dogs. He just couldn't pass up more free food.

"Are you sure that speed is your quirk? Because you obviously have a black hole for a stomach," Shinso said, squinting against the bright sun.

Sonic barked out a laugh. "Nope, but wouldn't that be cool?" There was probably someone with that exact quirk somewhere.

Shinso quietly snorted. "You're easy to please, aren't you?" Before Sonic could respond, purple irises drifted across the field. "Looks like the girls of your class got dressed up for the occasion."

"What?" Sonic followed the other's line of sight, hearing Present Mic commentating on what he was seeing. Uraraka, Hagakure, Yaoyorozu, Ashido, Asui, and the earlobe girl were all in cheerleader outfits with pom-poms. They didn't look too happy though. "Are they cheering on the side games or something?"

"Your guess is as good as mine."

They didn't get a chance to speculate anymore, for Midnight had yelled to gather in front of the podium. Present Mic announced that the final round was a tournament-style fighting competition as they did so, a tournament bracket appearing on a large screen.

Sonic's grin couldn't be wider. Man, if the second game had been a hot dog eating competition, then Sonic would've had to question of the whole festival was biased towards him.

The azure speedster headed for his class and Shinso did the same. He saw Midoriya at the front and went to stand by him.

"A tournament, huh?" Sonic started conversation, seeing how the other was looking unsurely at the bracket. "Nervous, Deku?"

Midoriya shook his head. "Not exactly…" He gave Sonic a small smile. "I just want the opportunity to show everyone how good of a hero I can be! Though, it depends on the matchups…"

Sonic gave him a thumbs up. "Don't worry so much! You'll do fine! And losing wouldn't be the end of the world if you go out with a bang!"

Deku chuckled though it sounded a bit forced. "I guess you're right... We have made it this far, after all!"

Sonic nodded at him just as Midnight started talking. She had a yellow box in her hands. "Come closer and draw lots to see who you're up against." Then she talked about the side games and how the participants of the tournament could play too if they wanted. "Now then," she slightly held up the box. "I'll start with the first place teams."

She went around with the box. When it was Sonic's turn, he stepped up and dug inside. It was a slip of paper with a random number on it. She recorded the number and went on. It wasn't long before Midnight was done, returning to the podium.

She gave the recordings to some small robot before smiling at the students. "Take a look at the bracket, my dears!" The teacher waved her whip around. "These are your opponents!"

It took a moment, but the names eventually appeared on the screen.

Shinso vs Ashido

Todoroki vs Sero

Midoriya vs Monoma

Tsuburaba vs. Yaoyorozu

Iida vs Hatsume

Hedgehog vs Kaminari

Bakugo vs Kirishima

Uraraka vs Tokoyami

Sonic _already_ felt his adrenaline pumping as he stared at the bracket. It was going to be an interesting first fight for sure with Shinso being in it. Later on, Sonic was up against Kaminari. And...he had the possibility of fighting Bakugo in the third round. Couldn't they just start the tournament right now?

"Monoma…" Sonic heard Deku mutter to himself. Those expressive eyes soon found the speedster's. "He's from Class 1-B and was on your team for the Cavalry battle, right?"

"Yep!" Sonic chirped, and he knew where this was going.

"Well, um…" Midoriya stammered. "Could you tell me his quirk?"

There it was. "Nope!" Sonic declared just as confidently. At Deku's crestfallen expression, he explained, "I'm not gonna tell you his because he doesn't know yours!"

"I...but-"

"Guess it's you and me, huh newbie?"

At the new voice, Sonic turned to notice Kaminari approaching him. The blonde seemed to have recovered from his loss of IQ points at the end of the second round.

Kaminari was smugly smirking, stopping on front of him. "I wanted to come over to say that I hope that you won't hate me after your devastating loss."

" _My_ loss?" Sonic put a hand on his hip, matching the other's smirk. "Oh it's on! How about I go ahead and say that _I'm_ sorry for eliminating you from the tournament in under ten seconds."

"Oh the fight's gonna be over in under ten seconds alright!" Kaminari laughed as he walked away, joining up with Kirishima and Ashido.

The blonde had no clue what was going to hit him.

"Are you two going to participate in the side games?" Iida's voice asked. He was strolling towards him and Deku, who had been quiet.

"Sure, why not?" Midoriya said after a second. "Maybe it'll get rid of my jitters."

"I was thinking the same thing as well!" Iida agreed before addressing Sonic. "What about you?"

Sonic waved him off. "I think I'll pass." If he participated, then it seriously wouldn't be fair to all of the other students. He didn't want to hog _all_ the spotlight. Plus, he could go for a cat nap. He glanced around the stadium. "I think I'll just watch. Do we have assigned seating or…?"

Iida pointed to an empty part of the stands that was split up in sections. "Our class will be sitting up there during the tournament. Are you sure that you don't want to join in?"

"Totally!" Sonic grinned, shifting his weight in the direction of the nearest exit. "You guys have fun, but don't tire yourselves out!" That'd be a horrible reason to lose.

"Okay…" Midoriya nodded, wringing his fingers together. "But before you go, could you just tell me-"

"You'll figure it out eventually, Deku!"

* * *

"Hey!"

Sonic woke up to a loud voice and a finger poking his side. He rubbed his eyes while he yawned, making out a blurry yellow figure as his vision adjusted.

The figure was Kaminari sitting down in the seat beside him, grinning. "You know, I didn't take you as a napper."

Sonic saw that his other classmates were filtering into the seats around him, ignoring Bakugo's withering glare as the blonde sat as far away from him as possible. The side games must be over. "Well, five chili dogs would make anyone feel a little tired!"

Kaminari blinked in shock. "You ate _five_ of those things? You're like, three feet tall!"

Kirishima sat on the other side of the blonde, leaning forward into the other's space to eye Sonic. "Dude, you gotta teach me your ways!"

"Get in line!" Kaminari playfully pushed the red-heads face away.

"Comes from years of training!" Sonic snickered.

The blonde huffed. "' _Course_ it does." He then recovered, his grin turning mischievous. "So, I've been thinking…"

"Yeah?" Sonic prompted, lowering his voice because the boy had lowered his.

"I say that we make a little bet on our fight, what do you say?"

"I say let's do it!" Sonic was all for this. "What're the stakes?"

Kaminari glanced at the nearby students, specifically the ones of the female gender, before raising a hand to his mouth and whispering, "When I win, you gotta set me up with one of the girls in our class. Y'know like Uraraka or Yaoyorozu…"

Sonic furrowed his brow. Out of all the requests… "Uh…" He glanced down at Uraraka, who was in regular clothes now, sitting with Deku and Iida in the row in front of them. "What makes you think I can do that?"

Kaminari gestured at him. "Because you're like a puppy or a kitten and girls eat that right up!" Sonic puffed out his cheeks because he was _not_ cute. He was an amazing hero who was very _manly_. Kaminari nodded, brightening. "Yeah just do that! Perfect!"

Sonic shook his head, huffing. "That's not gonna happen, because when _I_ win…" He thought for a second before a lightbulb went off in his mind. "Is the cafeteria food always free?"

Kaminari shook his head. "It's only free for the festival. But why do you want to know-" He paused. Sonic smirked. "I lied! The food's always free forever and-"

"Well if it's free then you don't mind paying for my lunch for...a week? Yeah, a week's good!" Sonic held out a hand as Kaminari groaned. "Shake on it?"

The blonde shook his hand. "You better practice your puppy-dog eyes!

"You just get your wallet ready, bud!"

They let go, giving each other determined looks. Ten seconds? Nah, Sonic was going to do it easily in _five_ to show that Kaminari messed with the wrong hedgehog.

Not ten seconds later, Present Mic's voice was heard over the low rumble of chatter. "Alright, audience! Let's get to the good stuff and not delay these finals any longer!"

The crowd roared, and Sonic sat up more in his seat. It was about time!

"Welcome our first fighters! With skin as colorful as her personality, it's Mina Ashido from the hero course!"

Ashido walked onto the concrete arena with a bright smile in her face and a pep in her step. She was waving at the cheering crowd. Sonic recalled that her quirk as acid, but it didn't seem like she'd get a chance to use it.

"And against her is Hitoshi Shinso from general studies who really hasn't done anything to stand out yet!"

Shinso ambled out into the sunlight, his expression almost bored.

"The rules are simple!" Mic shouted as the two came to a stop. "Immobilize your opponent or force them out of the ring! You could also win by getting the person to cry uncle!"

"You can do it, Mina!" Uraraka yelled alongside Asui.

"What's the purple guy's quirk anyway?" Kirishima asked aloud.

"You'll see!" Sonic answered with a snicker.

The crowd grew quiet as Mic explained that inflicting life threatening injuries was not allowed, itching for the fight to begin. The announcer then clapped his hands twice. "Ready?" Ashido and Shinso were staring at each other. "Begin!"

Ashido was the first to move, and Sonic gaped when she produced acid under her feet to shoot forward, skating back and forth with practiced ease. He would've never thought that she could do that!

Shinso just followed her with his eyes, unmoving. He simply opened his mouth. "Coming in close, huh?" His words were quiet because of the distance, but Sonic could pick them up. "You think that I'm just going to let you do that?"

Her smile was sure and filled with excitement. "Yeah! I'm-"

Ashido suddenly froze solid, standing very still.

Shinso smirked. "Because I'm not."

From this angle, Sonic could see the blank look on the girl's face, zombified like Monoma and Tsuburaba before her. Everyone around the hedgehog gasped, and even Mic was confused about what was happening.

"She's just frozen!" Kaminari observed, eyes wide.

"What did he do to her?" Midoriya asked from up front.

Sonic smiled. "That right there is his quirk in action!" He felt multiple pairs of questioning eyes on him. "He can brainwash people!"

"Brainwash?!" was repeated by multiple students.

Sonic nodded, acquiring an apologetic tone. "Yeah...I don't think that Ashido's makin' it past this round."

Asui cocked her head at him. "Is there any way to break out of it?"

"I dunno. He didn't tell me everything about it." Though, considering that the 1-B boys hadn't broke the spell when they were under, Sonic believed that once Shinso activated it, you were done for.

There were no more questions, most of the class looking down at the arena in worry. Except for Midoriya, who was crazily scribbling words down in a notebook he had.

Shinso was basically soaking in his victory at that point, letting her stand there for a moment so everyone could soak in what was going on.

Eventually, he uttered, "Now, hand me this win by walking out of bounds."

Slowly but surely, Ashido turned around, and her legs stiffly led her to the edge of the boundary. Tired eyes watched her as she went farther and farther away. Sonic wondered how mad Ashido was going to be after this. At least a little upset.

As soon as the pink girl stepped over the line, Midnight raised her whip and called out, "Mina Ashido is out of bounds! Hitoshi Shinso is the winner!"

A second later, Ashido was looking down at her feet. "What? What just happened?!" She whipped her head around. "How did I-?"

She locked eyes with Shinso, who shallowly bowed. "Thank you for your cooperation." His expression was content, his tone was cocky, and Sonic realized that Shinso was a complete bucket of sass.

He walked away, and Ashido grabbed her hair in frustration. "But...But that's not fair! I didn't get to do anything!" She stomped over to the tunnel she came out of.

"Aw man…" Kirishima rubbed his arm. "Can you even fight against him? He makes you a puppet instantly!"

"No...Not instantly…" Midoriya was chewing on his pen, reading over his notes. Almost everyone was listening in. "Shinso didn't activate his quirk immediately even though he had the chance to. It only took hold after he spoke and Ashido answered…"

"So you're trapped when he talks to you?" Uraraka frowned. "But that still makes it impossible to go against him!"

Iida cradled his chin. "Or his quirk only activates if you respond to him, which would be easier to deal with. You just have to remember to not talk."

"But is it just talking?" Tokoyami, who had settled on the other side of Iida, spoke up. "Could it be that any type of reaction is enough?"

Deku was going crazy in his notebook again.

Eyes shifted over to Sonic once more, and he shrugged, thinking that this was getting a bit too analytical for him. "Don't look at me! All I know is that he can zombify people and make them do whatever he wants."

Kaminari propped a foot up on the seat in front of him, careful of Iida's head. "No matter how it works, I kinda feel bad for whoever's gonna fight him next."

"Either Sero or Todoroki…" Kirishima tried to stay positive. "I mean, we can tell 'em what we know, right?"

Sonic linked his fingers behind his head. "Which isn't that much, yeah?" All they knew for sure was that Shinso could brainwash. Heck, even the talking thing wasn't set in stone. Shinso could've just wanted to wait so he could set up that one-liner. He did seem like the type to do that.

Though, that subject was put on hold as Ashido joined the class in the stands. She plopped down in the seat behind Kaminari, beside a sympathetic Yaoyorozu. She crossed her arms and pouted. "That was totally unfair! I should've gotten a warning or something!"

Yaoyorozu's voice was soft. "Well, no one knew what he could do except for Sonic."

Ashido threw the hedgehog a weak glare, and she suddenly reminded him of a certain pink hedgehog. He was glad that she couldn't produce deadly hammers, though acid could be arguably worse.

"Why didn't you tell me?!" She nearly whined.

An innocent smile grew on his muzzle. "Because he didn't want me to tell anybody!"

"But-"

"You _lied_ to us!" At the loud voice, Sonic turned towards the wall separating Class 1-A from Class 1-B. Monoma was hanging on the wall, his head peeking over the barrier. He looked ticked off. "You said that Shinso didn't have a quirk! _He_ made us join your group!"

Sonic felt a pang of guilt, but he squashed it quickly enough. "You can't be too mad about it though! You're fighting in the final round!"

Monoma opened his mouth before closing it again. His grey eyes narrowed. "I'll let it slide _this_ time, Hedgehog. But now, you're officially inducted into 1-A, and I'm watching you." His head dropped back down, disappearing.

"If only secrets helped me…" Ashido pouted even harder.

Kaminari nudged the hedgie. "You really know how to play the field, huh? I wouldn't call you a threat just yet, but you're getting up there!"

Sonic rolled his eyes as Present Mic's voice called announced the next two fighters. Sero and Todoroki were approaching the opposite ends of the stage. Sero was stretching while smiling, and Todoroki was…

Sonic's lips twitched downwards. Roki looked beyond mad. What happened after he had dropped him off at the cafeteria? Sonic had no way of knowing yet.

All he could do now was sit back and watch the show.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's the start of the epic finale of the Sports festival! Hope you enjoyed it!


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Deku cries...a lot.
> 
> Things get a bit graphic in this one, just a head's up.

“Todoroki and Sero…” Sonic’s gaze switched from the next two fighters to the green-haired boy loudly muttering to himself in the row in front of him. Deku was tapping his pen against his lips, eyes reading his notebook.

“It'll be an interesting matchup for sure…” Midoriya started. “From what I've seen, Sero specializes in more precise attacks while Todoroki’s moves usually cover a wide range. If Sero could get Todoroki off the field fast enough, he might win this, but if he lets Todoroki get an attack in, then he may be done for and-”

At this point, he had gained the attention of everyone and Sonic was a little concerned that he would go on forever. “What is he doing?” he quietly asked his blonde neighbor, amazed that Deku was still droning on.

“Mumbling. Don't worry, he does this all the time,” Kaminari responded just as lowly. Then he leaned forward with a grin. “Hey Midoriya.” Deku miraculously heard him and glanced back at the blonde. Kaminari jabbed a finger over his shoulder. “Shouldn't you be getting to the waiting rooms? Your fight is up next, isn't it?”

Midoriya’s eyes grew wide. He gasped as he hopped out of his seat. “You're right! I have to go!” He cut in front of Iida and a few other classmates before swiftly walking out of sight with Uraraka calling ‘good luck’ after him. His pen and notebook were laying in his empty seat.

“Waiting rooms?”

Kaminari nodded at Sonic, linking his fingers behind his head. “Yeah, they're just rooms to wait for your turn in. They're mostly for calming your nerves though.”

Sonic smirked at him. “Guess I won't be needing to wait in those then.”

As he expected, Kaminari returned the expression. “Oh yeah, newbie? Then I won't have to either!”

If the blonde had seen what Sonic was _really_ capable of, he'd be shaking in his boots by now. Before he could continue taunting the blonde, Present Mic’s voice rung out. “Ready?”

Sonic perked up, forgetting all about teasing his neighbor in favor of intently watching the stadium. Sero was doing some last-minute stretching while Todoroki was just standing there.

It would be awesome if Roki won so Sonic could potentially fight against him, but it didn't really matter because going against _any_ of these quirks would be a ride and a half.

“Begin!”

Quick as lightning, white tape was hurled out of Sero’s elbow dispensers and wrapped around Todoroki’s body before IcyHot could properly react.

“He's fast!” Uraraka commented in awe, and Sonic agreed. Sure, _he_ would've been able to dodge it, but that's still pretty quick for a regular kid.

Sero used both of his elbows to constrict Roki’s torso and legs, rendering the student immobile. The black-haired teen had a large grin on his face as he spun around, forcefully yanking the taped-up Todoroki toward the perimeter of the stage.

Ashido’s hyper voice sounded from behind him. “You go Sero! You have it in the bag!”

Kaminari was leaning forward at this point, an excited smile nearly splitting his face in half. “He's really about to win!”

Sonic believed so too...until the point when Todoroki looked up with a crazy glint in his eyes.

Roki stomped down on the ground, and the next moment, the ground was shaking and Sonic was starting at a _giant wall of ice_ a couple meters away from his nose.

“Whoa…” he breathed out, his puffs of air now visible as white haze. Todoroki could do _this?_ Okay yeah, Sonic _had_ to fight him now.

“I-I’m f-freezing…” Kirishima stuttered out with his arms wrapped around himself.

“You're t-t-telling me!” Kaminari was faring no better, teeth chattering against the cold.

Sonic had a layer of fur, so he was somewhat shielded from the drop in temperature. That didn't mean that he couldn't feel it though.

The hedgehog — eager for more action — leaned over to the left a bit, where the wall of ice didn't obscure the battlefield.

He looked just in time to watch Roki break out of the frozen tap like it was nothing. He stalked closer to where Sero was probably frozen in place. sonic couldn't see the tape boy from this angle.

“Um...don't you th-think that you went overboard?” Sero’s voice was heard over the stunned quiet of the crowd.

 _Maybe just a bit_ , Sonic thought. Roki must've been _really_ angry to let a giant attack like that loose. It was bothering him that he didn't know what happened.

“Tell the truth, Sero…” Midnight was standing on the podium to the side, half frozen herself. “Can you move at all?”

“Are you kidding?” Sero sounded like he was _way_ past frozen and Sonic didn't envy him one bit. “Obviously not! My b-body is freezing!”

“Sero has been immobilized! Todoroki advances to the second round!”

That was quick. “There really wasn't a point in Deku going to the waiting room, huh?” Sonic pointed out as the audience tried to boost Sero’s spirit.

“G-guess not…” Kaminari shivered. “B-but maybe he might b-be there awhile because it's gonna take _f-forever_ for it to melt!”

“Not really!” Iida piped up from the front. He pointed at the frozen crystals. “Some of it’s already melting! Because if the position of the sun and the current weather, it shouldn't take more than twenty minutes!”

Kaminari didn't look too reassured. “Th-Thanks for that, class rep.”

Twenty minutes _was_ a long time though to be just sitting around, Sonic wasn't going to lie.

However, then he heard the telltale sounds of flames, and he wondered if Blaze had mysteriously appeared. Sonic glanced up to see plumes of fire attacking the looming ice, speeding up the melting process. The flames were controlled, staying trained on the ice and not getting close to the on-watchers.

The water trickled down and soaked the ground underneath. Once the iceberg had decreased enough in size, Sonic could identify the flame thrower. It was a massive guy with fire covering most of his face and shoulders. He was frowning as he worked, and Sonic tilted his head a bit.

He had a fire quirk, and apparently Todoroki did too. It was either a total coincidence because he didn't know how common or rare certain types of quirks were, or those two were somehow related…

“Thanks to the number two hero Endeavor for helping up clear the field!” Mic praised the fiery hero, but he just huffed before leaving the arena. _Someone_ had gotten up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.

“Everyone, let’s welcome our third pair of fighters! From Class 1-A of the hero course is Izuku Midoriya!” Most of Sonic’s classmates loudly cheered. “It's funny, because he's been in the winner’s spot for two rounds, and yet no one knows what his quirk is!”

 Deku had a small smile on his face as he approached the concrete stage, but everyone and their mothers could notice the anxiety poking through.

“The second fighter is also from the hero course! Welcome Neito Monoma from Class 1-B!” Sonic didn't think it was possible, but Monoma’s classmates cheered even louder for him. He also heard something about showing 1-A what for. So, apparently Monoma wasn't the only one who had a thing out for Sonic’s class. “His quirk is _very_ interesting if you managed to catch on!”

“Excuse me…” Sonic peered over his shoulder to see Yaoyorozu making her way to the aisle. It must be her turn after this one.

“I'm guessing that you're not gonna tell us Monoma’s quirk either?” Kirishima threw the question out there, raising an eyebrow at the hedgehog.

Sonic smirked. “Nailed it right on the head!”

“Ready?” Mic ecstatically called out.

“Wait a minute!” Down at the edge of the stage, Monoma had risen his voice so that the commentator box could hear. Mic peered down at him, and the grey-eyed blonde wore a smile that radiated confidence. “Where's the sportsmanship? I'd like to give my opponent a friendly handshake, if that's alright. I don't want things to be rocky between us after this match.”

Sonic narrowed his eyes. Monoma _willingly_ wanted to touch a student of Class 1-A? Something was off here. What was that blonde planning? His quirk was copying others’ powers, but Sonic didn't know _how_ he did it. If he asked for a handshake, then…

Sonic subtly grinned. That sly dog.

“Uh…” Present Mic blinked at Monoma before sharing a look with the mummied Aizawa. The 1-A teacher shrugged. “It's not really up to us! Midnight? What do you think?”

“I think it's a perfect way to start a match!” Midnight immediately gushed. “Midoriya, do you accept your opponent’s act of manly sportsmanship?”

“He better!” Kirishima yelled, eyes sparkling.

Deku didn't hesitate in nodding, his smile wider and surer than before. He then jogged to the middle of the stage, meeting Monoma halfway. He held out a hand, expression warm. “Let’s make this a great match! Good luck!”

Monoma shook his hand, his confidence never wavering. “Back at you.”

They parted and returned to their previous positions. “Alright!” Mic regained his stride. “Are you two ready?” The pair nodded. “Then begin!”

Neither of them made the first move. Deku was eying the blonde across the way, somewhat crouched with his fists clenched.

Monoma wasn't paying attention to Midoriya at all. He was glancing down at his hands, smile morphing into an arrogant grin. After a moment, he finally addressed Deku, “Do you know what my quirk is, Midoriya?”

The green-haired boy was thrown off by that question. “I – no-”

“Yeah, I figured that.” Monoma cut him off, an aura of cockiness around him. Sonic just shook his head in amusement, a couple of questioning eyes on him. “Because otherwise, you would've declined the handshake.”

“What?” The nervousness had returned, Deku frowning up at those words. “What do you mean?”

Monoma took a couple steps forward. “What I _mean_ is that I can copy other peoples’ quirks.” Midoriya stiffened, his eyes wide like a deer caught in headlights. “That’s right! And guess what? I steal them by _touch.”_

Some of Class-B cheered while Uraraka crossed her arms. “That was _so_ dirty!”

“And unmanly!” Kirishima looked like Monoma had wronged him personally.

Midnight was equally disappointed and intrigued, but she didn't say anything about it.

Deku seemed a little bit _too_ mortified. Sonic understood that it was shocking, but why did he look like he was about to cry?

All of the fight had drained out of Midoriya’s system. His face was pale as he shakily stepped forward, hands held out non-threateningly. “D-Don't use it! Don't use my quirk!”

“Jeez, he looks terrified!” Kaminari observed, confusion etched into his features. “What's up with that?”

Sonic wished that he knew. Deku’s power was super strength, right? He should be excited about basically going against himself!

Monoma quirked a brow, his grin unwavering. “Why not? Scared to let the world know that your quirk isn't strong and that 1-A isn't as good as people think it is?”

Sonic rolled his eyes. _That_ was Monoma.

“No!” Deku was desperate. “That's n-not it! You can’t-”

“I _can_ and I will!” Monoma laughed. “Let's see what kind of quirk got you into 1-A, huh?”

“S-Stop!”

Midoriya’s pleads fell on deaf ears. Monoma smirked at him before clenching his right fist.

It happened in slow motion.

Deku darted at him, tears welling up in his eyes. Monoma’s arm flexed, and glowing green lines striped themselves across his skin. Monoma’s smirk widened…

...until there was blood.

Monoma’s agonized scream propelled everyone to their feet. Sonic’s ears were plastered against his head as he gazed on in shock.

The blonde on the field had dropped to his knees, cradling his limp and profusely bleeding arm. Sonic wanted to look away from the ripped skin, the exposed torn muscle, and the clearly shattered bone, but his body was frozen.

Monoma hadn't stopped screaming, but it was partially drowned out by the surprised and concerned shouts of the audience.

Deku was sobbing at this point, down on his knees as well. He was tightly covering his mouth as a river of tears stained his cheeks.

Sonic couldn't comprehend what was happening, ignoring the cries coming from the students around him. Deku’s quirk was super strength! So why...so why was Monoma’s arm torn apart…?

The hedgie was yanked out of his thoughts when a pink haze settled around the stage. Monoma’s shouts of pain was cut off when his eyes rolled to the back of his head, body slumping to the ground. Midoriya followed right behind him, crashing to the concrete, unconscious.

Wide emerald eyes snapped to Midnight, who was running towards them. A piece of her shirt had been ripped off at the elbow. So her quirk was putting people to sleep...thankfully…

Two pairs of robots rushed into the field as well, each duo carrying a gurney. Midnight helped Deku onto one while Cementoss quickly and carefully laid Monoma onto the other. The robots with the blonde hastily raced away while the ones with Midoriya followed at a more leisurely pace.

“What in the world was _that!?_ ” Kaminari stressfully dug his fingers in his hair. “His arm was so messed up!”

Kirishima chewed on his lip. “That looked so _bad_ , dude…”

“Are…” Sonic’s heart was racing. That amount of damage was unreal. And Deku...caused it? “Are they going to be able to save his arm?”

Everyone looked at him, but no one had an answer.

Ashido wrapped her arms around her stomach. “Oh god…”

“Did...Did you see Deku?” Uraraka asked to all who were listening. Her voice was wobbly. “He didn't...he was _begging_ Monoma not to do it. He knew…”

He knew that his quirk would hurt Monoma? Sonic frowned to himself. Then that meant that Deku’s power was...self-destructive? Did something similar to _this_ happen every time he used his quirk?

“Does Deku get hurt like this when he uses his power?” Sonic questioned, his gut churning at the thought.

Asui was the one to sooth his discomfort, but by only slightly. “No, nothing like this. The most I've seen is him breaking a finger.”

Monoma would've been lucky just to break a finger...

“Everyone! Everyone settle down!” Mic’s voice was loud, and the overall volume of the shoo Ken stadium decreased. “I know what we just saw was surprising in the worst way, but Monoma is going to be taken care of very soon! He will be fine!”

Hushed murmurs spread across the crowd until a voice yelled out, “What about the match?” It emitted from 1-B’s section. It was gruff and angry. “Are you letting Midoriya through even though he nearly _tore_ Monoma’s arm off?!”

Mic was unsure. “Well, technically-”

“What do you mean _technically!?_ He broke the rules!”

The murmuring turned into mutters of agreeance, and Sonic had a bad feeling in his stomach. Was Midoriya about to be disqualified?

Aizawa took the microphone out of Mic’s hands. “What happened was clearly an accident. From Midoriya’s actions beforehand, it’s obvious that neither of them wanted the fight to end like this.”

“But still-!”

Midnight was the one to interject. “The winner of this match won't be disclosed at this time.” She glanced at Cementoss, who was busy covering the blood splatters with clean cement. “At the end of the first rounds, the outcome will be discussed. Until then…” She returned to her podium, Cementoss walking off the stage as well. “The festival will go on!”

“It's fair…” Iida said as he sat back down in his seat, Sonic doing so as well. The rest of Class 1-A — and the audience — all found their seats again.

“This was supposed to be fun…” Kaminari rubbed the back of his neck.

Sonic had half the mind to run to the nurse’s office to check on Monoma, but he knew that he'd just be in the way. He took a deep breath and managed a smile. “Everything will be fine, yeah? I'm sure Monoma will be alright,” he really wished that was the case, “and the whole thing was an accident like what Aizawa said! I'm like 99 percent positive that Deku’s moving on!”

Kaminari eventually nodded. “Yeah...yeah we gotta stay positive about this! Being down in the dumps won't do anything at all!”

Iida turned around, determined. “And we can't let this bring us so down that it will affect our performances in the tournament! The pro heroes will take care of everything!”

Uraraka deeply sighed. “You're right, Iida. And...we don't know what actual hero work looks like. This type of stuff may happen…”

“Right! Take this as a wake up call!”

“I just wanna press snooze…” Kirishima’s cheeks were tinged green as Iida excused himself, leaving for the waiting room.

The words didn't bring everyone back to how they were before, but they weren't as distraught anymore. Sonic called that a win.

Mic’s voice was strong once more. “Let's get back to it for the time being, ladies and gentlemen! Our fourth pair of fighters are up next! From the hero course’s Class 1-B is Kosei Tsuburaba! His quirk will surely blow you away!”

There were applause when the brunette stepped into the light, but it was nowhere as cheery as it was before the accident. Tsuburaba looked off as well; Sonic figured that he'd learned what happened somehow. And he was good friends with Monoma too…

“And his opponent is Momo Yaoyorozu from Class 1-A!” Ashido and Tooru cheered the loudest for her when she strolled out, her expression troubled as well. “You never know what she might throw at ya! Gotta stay on your toes!”

Sonic had no idea what the outcome of this fight was going to be. Tsuburaba had solid air, and Yaoyorozu could...create things? She had that long pole during the obstacle course and that huge blanket in the second round…

“Ready? Begin!”

No words were exchanged before Tsuburaba sprinted forward, eyes trained on her. Yaoyorozu braced herself, lips thinned. Neither of them had used their quirks yet.

Tsuburaba was running straight for her, making Sonic wonder what exactly was he going to do. All the hedgehog had seen him do was make shields, and those wouldn't really help him here.

Once the brunette had crossed the middle into her territory, Yaoyorozu ran forward as well. Sonic was thinking that they were going to have an old fashioned fist fight until she thrust out her palm.

A rainbow light emitted from her skin, and then a giant net was hurled in Tsuburaba’s direction. He stumbled in surprise and was too slow to react. The net wrapped him up, and Yaoyorozu was on him before he could free himself.

She pushed him down on his back and gripped the net to make escape harder. However, instead of panicking, Tsuburaba was quick to grab her wrists through the material. Yaoyorozu gasped and attempted to pull away, but he held on.

The brunette took a deep breath, blowing out air that wrapped around her forearms and solidified. She jerked back in shock, and Tsuburaba took this chance to let go and breathe onto her hands, trapping them together.

Before she could get to her feet, he had targeted her calves as well, keeping her from standing. Yaoyorozu tried to anyway and ended up on her side, to her surprise.

“The net was a _really_ bad idea,” Tsuburaba said as he fought said object, taking his time because it seemed like Yaoyorozu couldn't do anything in her position. “Sorry for this, but, you know…” He panted as he eventually untangled himself, throwing the net away.

The black-haired girl stopped straining to escape, looking crushed where she lay.

Midnight gazed on. “Yaoyorozu, can you-”

She shook her head, looking like she was fighting back tears.

“Well then, Tsuburaba wins and advances to the next round!”

“Aw, I feel bad…” Kirishima uttered lowly.

Sonic nodded even though he was happy for the brunette too. “She should've used a blanket or somethin’ he couldn't breathe through.”

After Tsuburaba helped her break the air shackles, Mic was ready to move on. “It's time for the next fighters!” He introduced both Iida and Hatsume as they walked out, Iida more stone faced than the grinning pinkette. Though, Sonic noticed that the boy was wearing some weird gadget that looked like something Tails would build on one of his off days.

Midnight was quick to spot it as well, ordering him to take it off. Iida explained that he did it as a favor for Hatsume — the pinkette’s grin grew — and Midnight allowed it.

“She's easy to persuade, isn't she?” Sonic commented to Kaminari.

The blonde nodded. “Yeah, seems like it. No one’s arguing against it, so…”

“I think it's because they're scared of that whip.”

Kaminari snorted a laugh.

“Ready? Begin!”

The fight started off interestingly enough with them both using the support tools, but then it soon became boring when Sonic realized that it was practically a showcase for the girl’s inventions.

Sonic hummed to himself. His fight with Kaminari was next, but it didn't seem like this one was ending any time soon with the amount of stuff Hatsume had. The azure hedgie glanced around him to find that Deku still wasn't back. He thought for a moment before standing up.

“Where're you going?” Kaminari asked, blinking up at him.

“Nowhere important!” Sonic ruffled his hair. “And don't worry, I'll be back before our match!” Sonic the hedgehog was never late to anything.

“Hey! What gives?” Kaminari huffed as he fixed his hair, borderline pouting. “It took me too much time this morning to comb it, man!”

Sonic laughed as he reached the aisle. He peered down at the fight, and sure enough, Hatsume was still showing off her ‘babies’. Sonic strolled out of the stands and back into the artificially lighted hallways.

He searched around for any witnesses before speeding in the direction of the nurse’s office, knowing the way by heart at this point.

Sonic made it there in no time, only passing a couple of bewildered students on the way. The door was closed, and he was about to knock when he hears muffled voices. They sounded anything but calm.

The blue speedster made sure he was alone in the hall before pressing his ear to the door.

“...going to d-disqualify me?!”

“Calm down, Midoriya my boy!”

It was safe to say that Deku was awake again...and not very happy.

“I-I’m _trying_ All Might, but-” Sonic blinked in surprise. Midoriya was talking to All Might? The man in there sounded different though… “-I h-haven't done anything memorable y-yet! Me passing the first two rounds was nothing but l-luck!”

“...That’s not-”

Deku was crying now, Sonic could hear the sniffles and his heavy tone. “I-I’m right! And...And if I-I’m out of the festival, people will just remember me as the boy who...w-who…” There was a loud sob, and Sonic chewed the inside of his cheek.

“...It’ll be okay, young Midoriya. There will be a discussion about that match later, and I'm sure the fact that it was an accident will hold heavy weight to it. You _will_ get the chance to tell people that _you are here_ , understand?”

“Y-Yes sir, I just…”

“I know. That matchup was probably the worst you could've gotten, and that little trick he did didn't help things. But you must cheer up, my boy! Monoma is being taken care of, he'll be fine and you will be too.”

“I-I just feel so guilty…I c-could’ve done _something_ to keep him from…” His voice broke at the end.

“Don't blame yourself. No one’s at fault here. You didn't know his quirk, and he didn't know the consequences.” Sonic shuffled his feet. If he had told Deku Monoma’s quirk, would this have happened…?

“O-Okay...I’ll get back to the stands now…”

“Alright.”

Sonic heard footsteps and sucked in a breath. He was sure that he wasn't supposed to hear any of that, and he didn't really want to get caught accidentally snooping. Deku probably didn't want his little breakdown made public.

Footsteps light, Sonic darted down to the nearest corner and hid behind it. He peeked just a little bit just in time to see Deku and-

Wait. _That’s_ not All Might.

Walking out behind Midoriya was the blonde mentor with dark eyes that he saw after the obstacle course.

The man waved to someone through the open door. “See you later, Recovery Girl. I hope that you'll get updates from the hospital soon.”

The hospital? So Monoma wasn't even _here_ anymore. That...was a little worrying. Why couldn't Mrs. RG take care of it?

“I hope so too, All Might.” A familiar voice answered, and Sonic resisted the urge to gape. So that _was_ All Might? Sure, there were similarities, but was this some of alternate form or something?

All Might nodded as the door closed.

Midoriya was taking deep breaths, wiping away tears.

“Let's go before your classmates get too worried.”

“R-Right.”

They walked off in the direction Sonic came from, and he realized that he had to find another way back before Iida’s match was over. Running into them would be too awkward.

He silently tapped his foot, thinking. Emerald eyes focused on the closed door and remembered that Recovery Girl had a TV in there that showed the fights. He could wait in there and innocently ask about Monoma like he just hadn't eavesdropped. That was a good plan.

Sonic counted to sixty — by fives — before approaching the office once more. He knocked on the door, opening it at the words, “Come in!”

He smiled brightly at the lady calmly watching the screen propped up in a corner of the room. “Hi Mrs, RG!”

The woman smiled back at him. “Hello, deary. What brings you back here?”

Sonic searched the room, looking for something he already knew wasn't there. “I came to check on Monoma, but-”

Recovery Girl sighed, her smile waning. “That poor boy. He was taken to the nearest hospital.” She shook her head. “His condition was too critical for me to work on.”

Sonic’s ears marginally lowered. “It was that bad?”

She nodded, expression solemn. “He had been losing blood fast. His arm was mangled. If they manage to save it, I don't know if it would function properly again.”

Sonic ran his fingers through his quills. He would’ve told Deku the other’s power if he knew that it would lead to _this._ Yeah, it wouldn't have been a fair fight, but Monoma would still be here and not in a _hospital._

The nurse was watching him, subtly frowning. “Is there something bothering you, little one?”

There was no harm in telling her, right? “I...Midoriya asked me before the tournament what Monoma's quirk was and I didn't tell him!”

She hummed. “Did you know Midoriya's quirk?”

“I knew that it was super strength, but I didn't know there was like recoil damage!”

Recovery Girl shuffled over and put a comforting hand on his shoulder. “Then it’s not your fault, dear, simple as that.”

Sonic stared for a moment before softly smiling. “Simple as that, huh?”

She copied his expression and patted his shoulder. “And plus,” RG started as she dropped her hand. “Midoriya doesn't blame you.”

“Really? How do you know?”

“He was here not long before you showed up.”

Huh, so he had missed a lot of that conversation. But anyway, Sonic was glad Deku didn't have any ill-will toward him. He was a cool guy to be around.

Recovery Girl’s gaze drifted towards the TV, and it showed Hatsume walking out-of-bounds for some odd reason. “I think you should go on now. You don't want to forfeit your match, do you?”

“Nope!” Sonic chirped. “Free lunch is on the line!

She playfully shooed him away, quietly giggling.

He jovially waved goodbye, closing the door behind him. Sonic inhaled deeply and let it out. He smiled to himself, feeling better. And now it was time for Kaminari to learn not to make bets against Sonic the hedgehog.

* * *

Sonic was stretching his legs as he waited in the tunnel leading out into the arena. The crowd had gradually returned to its excited state during Tsuburaba’s and Iida’s fights, lots of voices clashing and forming a hyper rumble.

He then stretched his arms over his head as Mic's words echoed around. “Let's hear it for our next fighters!”

Sonic bounced back and forth as he punched the air, chuckles bubbling up in his throat.

“Here comes the boy with the electric personality, Denki Kaminari from Class 1-A! And against him is the newcomer who knows how to gain some serious attention! Also from Class 1-A is Sonic Hedgehog!”

The hedgie had some pep in his step as he ambled out in the open. There were boisterous cheers, and he met them with a wide smile.

As he approached the stage, his eyes scanned the overzealous audience until they lingered on the 1-A section. Deku was back in his seat, any traces of tears gone. Way behind Midoriya in his little corner alone was Bakugo. He wanted to watch instead of going to the waiting room? Sonic wasn't surprised. As soon as they locked eyes, those scarlets glared, and Sonic mockingly winked.

Before Sonic focused on his opponent, he caught a flash of red and white. Todoroki was leaning against a wall in the emptier part of the stadium, watching intently. Well, looked like he had a lot of people to impress.

Sonic made it to his side of the fight arena, and Kaminari did so as well, a cocky brow twitching upwards. “Ready to lose, Sonic?”

The azure speedster put a hand on his hip, a grin growing in his muzzle. “Nah, not really feelin’ it today. Can I get a rain check?”

Kaminari opened his mouth to retort, but Mic didn't let him speak. “Are you ready?” Sonic and the blonde narrowed their eyes at each other with identical smirks. “Begin!”

Sonic didn't waste a second. Wind whipped across his face as he bolted forward. Kaminari’s expression had barely changed by the time Sonic was in front of him. He spun on his heel and roundhouse kicked the blonde in his side.

It wasn't full strength, so Kaminari wasn't flung that far, but the boy still cried out in surprise more than pain. Sonic lowered his foot back to the ground as Kaminari rolled over the perimeter line.

The crowd had gone silent as the blonde came to a stop on his stomach, disoriented. Kaminari stared at an accomplished Sonic in disbelief, mouth hanging open.

“What…” Present Mic sounded as awed as Kaminari looked. “I blinked and it was over! What in the heck happened!?”

Even Midnight was delayed in her announcement. “...Kaminari’s out of bounds! Hedgehog moves on!”

That's when the uproar started, cheers and whistles and applause filling the air.

Sonic jogged over to the frozen blonde. He snickered as he held out a hand. “Couldn't let you shock me, yeah?”

Kaminari was slow in grabbing it. He assisted the dusty boy back to his feet. “That…” Kaminari finally spoke. “I didn't even...you were...that was…”

Sonic rested a hand on his back and aimed him towards the tunnel. “It's okay, bud, take your time.”

“That was _insane!_ ” Kaminari finally burst as soon as they stepped into the shadows. “You're faster than Iida and...how fast did you _go?”_

Sonic chuckled with a shrug. “Dunno! I just...went, y’know?”

“No, I _don't_ know and my brain’s still spinning.” Kaminari held his forehead and breathed out a puff of air. “ _That’s_ why All Might recommended you, huh?"

Before Sonic could respond ambiguously, Bakugo had rounded the corner. His harsh glare was already set in place as he zeroed in on Sonic.

Kaminari had drifted over a bit to give the ashy blonde some room, but Sonic kept to his path. He and Bakugo were on a collision course, neither willing to switch lanes.

They both paused in their strides with a small space in between each other. Sonic met Bakugo’s scowl with a lopsided grin. Kaminari was off to the side, nervously  shifting his weight.

“I'm glad you decided to stay and watch the fight, Kacchan!” Sonic loved pushing buttons other people would stay well away from. There was a thrill in it he couldn't explain.

Two palms crackling with hot fire were positioned on either side of his head. Bakugo was bending down, snarling right in his face. “You better not fucking lose to _anyone_ before you get to me,” he spat, eyes basically slits.

Sonic scoffed like there wasn't a bomb in front of him ready to go off. He reached up and patted the blonde on his cheek. “Back at ya, ‘kay pal?”

He saw the right hook coming a mile away. Sonic sidestepped the attack, causing Bakugo to stumble forward.

The hedgie peered over his shoulder, schooling his expression to look almost bored because he knew it would tick the other off the most. “Let's save the fighting for the match, alright Kacchan?”

If Bakugo was a weapon right now, he'd be a nuclear bomb. He was trembling with rage, his jaw was clenched, and another wrong move would probably level this whole arena.

“Uh Sonic?” Kaminari called him, his tone hushed. He was inching away from the live fuse. “I think we should go now before he actually kills you.”

“Kill me? Pfft, he can try!” Sonic turned his back on Bakugo, resuming his trek back to the stands. He felt Kacchan’s molten gaze on his back.

Kaminari was keeping in step with him, and when they turned the corner, he whispered in an astonished tone, “Can you even _feel_ fear?”

“Sure I can!” Sonic leisurely linked his hands behind his head. “It's just that Bakugo is nothing to be scared of.”

“You gotta share your secrets, man.”

“Here's one...think of him as an angry wet cat.”

“...Oh my god you're a genius.”

“I try! And don't you think that I forgot about the bet.”

“A guy can dream, can't he?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Five fights in a chapter? I'm proud!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the tournament continues...among other things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is so late! Forgive me!

The rest of the way back up to the stands, Sonic was sharing ways to help Kaminari overcome any Baku-phobia he had. Sonic had mentioned that Kacchan was nothing more than a temperamental dandelion, and the electric boy seemed to love that one, clutching his stomach as they walked. The blonde was still chuckling about it when they reached the 1-A seating.

Their arrival instantly turned heads.

An entertained grin grew on Sonic's muzzle when multiple voices blurted out at once.

"Welcome back you two!"

"Oh my gosh, that fight was _awesome!_ "

"Kaminari, you don't feel too bad, right?"

"Sonic, you confused the _teachers._ That takes some skill!"

"You were just a _blur!_ "

Sonic laughed out loud as he settled down in his seat, Kaminari taking the place beside him once again. "I had to make it short and sweet!" He playfully nudged the blonde beside him. "Cuz if I had let him get an attack in, I would've been done for!"

"Oh yeah, man." Kaminari linked his fingers behind his head. "If you had been a second-" Sonic rose a brow at him, and the boy rolled his eyes. "-a _couple_ seconds slower, you would've been fried!"

Iida, who was sitting in the row in front of Sonic, cupped his chin and absently nodded. "That is possibly true." The tall boy shifted his attention to a relaxing Sonic. "And the strategy of attacking before the opponent has the chance to think is a solid one!" A small frown marred his face. "Especially when it seems like going all out doesn't fault you in any way…"

Sonic wasn't going to correct him about going 'all out' – he had been aiming to push Kaminari out of bounds, not break most of his bones – because Iida apparently had that handicap. "Yeah, but I don't have _engines_ for legs! Do you know how awesome that is? It's like you have a back-up system! If you run out of uh…fuel, you can still move! When I get tired-" Which wasn't very often. "-I'm out for the count! You have no reason to doubt yourself, bud!"

Iida looked like wanted to say something else, but instead the frown morphed into a soft and determined smile. "I suppose you're right!"

"Don't you two fight in the next round?" Sero asked, having recovered from Todoroki's ice while Sonic was gone. His grin was wide. "We get to see you go at it!"

" _Hopefully_ we do!" Kaminari chuckled. "If we can keep track of them!"

"It'll be an interesting fight for sure…" Midoriya muttered distractedly as his pen went to town in his notebook. He sounded heaps better than he did in the nurse's office.

Curious, Sonic leaned forward and peered over the green-haired boy's shoulder. He blinked down at the rough sketch of himself that covered half a page, words being scribbled all over the other side. "Takin' notes, huh?"

Deku paused in his writing and sent him a sheepish look. "Um, yeah! I hope you don't mind…" He held his book up and flipped through its many pages. Sonic caught glimpses of familiar drawn faces. "I have this notebook to learn more about people's quirks! Yours is really interesting and I just-"

"You don't have to explain yourself, pal! I don't mind!" An amiable smile grew on Sonic's muzzle. He was used to people trying to dissect and understand his speed. It _was_ a pretty cool power. Helped saved hundreds of lives and made trips to the store _much_ faster.

When Deku lowered the book with a relieved expression on his face, Sonic leaned a little closer. "So speaking of quirks, I wanna talk about yours…"

Even though he had trailed off, Midoriya seemed to know the direction he was taking the conversation. The boy stiffened, and he didn't maintain eye contact. "If it's about M-Monoma, I'm sorry because you p-probably got to know him during the Calvary battle and-and I didn't _think-_ "

"Whoa whoa!" Sonic held up a hand to calm the other down before the dam burst again. Deku's eyes were glistening, eventually finding him once more. Sonic's smile hadn't left his face. "There's no need to apologize! It was just a freak accident, yeah?" Midoriya hesitantly nodded, sniffing. "What I actually was gonna say that I can't _wait_ to see your quirk in action!"

Deku obviously didn't expect that, eyebrows furrowing. "What-"

"Begin!"

Both Sonic and Midoriya snapped their attentions down at the arena when Mic's voice filled the air. The current fighters – Bakugo and Kirishima – immediately rushed at each other. The red-head's skin hardened as he ran while Kacchan propelled himself forward with loud blasts.

Sonic patted Deku's shoulder, figuring to end this conversation so he could learn all he could about Bakugo. "I mean, with _that_ amount of recoil, I'm expecting to see some serious strength!" Sonic leaned back in his chair with Midoriya nodding at him after a second, uncertainty swirling in his green eyes.

Sonic wanted to see more confidence in that stare, but at least he stopped the other from crying. The hedgehog dropped his gaze onto the fighters below just in time to see Kirishima get blasted with a point-blank explosion.

Worry coursed through his veins because Sonic had his fair share of explosions, and he knew that taking one right to the face was not fun.

However, when the black smoke cleared, Kirishima was standing there, smirking broadly. He didn't look damaged at all; the only sign of the blast was his singed clothes. "Can't touch me with those explosions, Bakugo!"

"He's like a human shield?" Sonic knew that Kirishima was resistant to attacks, but not to get _scratched_ by them? He'd make the _perfect_ sparring partner.

Kaminari barked out a laugh as the red-head launched himself at the scowling Bakugo. "Yeah, the dandelion probably isn't winning this one!"

Ashido covered her mouth as she giggled. "Did you call Bakugo a _dandelion_? That's perfect!"

"Just don't say that do his face though," Sero advised, chuckling to himself. "Because I don't have a speech prepared for your funeral."

Kaminari rolled his eyes at him, and Sonic snickered as he kept his attention on the battle. Kacchan was on the defensive now, his frown deep and eyes sharp as Kirishima threw punch after punch. The blonde sidestepped every swing, yet Kirishima still looked overjoyed as he refused Bakugo any room to breathe.

Sonic made a mental note that Kacchan was light on his feet even without the help of his quirk. The kid was well rounded, a hard hitter and pretty evasive. He and Sonic were similar in that aspect.

Gasps sounded all around him when Kirishima landed a punch, snapping Bakugo's head to the side. The red-head laughed while Kacchan whipped his head back forward, snarling with blood dripping from the newly formed slash on his cheek.

Like a switch had been flipped, Bakugo was on the offensive.

The blonde roared before aiming a sparking palm right at Kirishima's chest. A boom cracked upon impact, a flash of yellow and orange swallowing the boy. Kirishima was fine, holding his arms in a way to protect himself, but Bakugo wasn't done.

Kacchan let out a war cry before hitting his opponent with blast after blast, Kirishima's expression becoming more strained after each devastating blow. With one powerful hit, the red-head grunted in pain and held his targeted side.

"You're straining yourself, huh Shitty Hair?" Bakugo barked out, his intensity fierier than his explosions. "You can't hold your quirk forever!"

A shout ripped itself out of Kacchan's throat as he continued his barrage before Kirishima could properly answer. Each blast gained power, and Sonic's eyes grew wider as a result, a low impressed whistle passing his lips.

Bakugo's yell was heard by all as he struck Kirishima with an explosion so strong that the shark-toothed boy was unconscious before he hit the ground.

"Whoa…" was all Sonic could breathe out as the blonde panted down below, Midnight declaring Bakugo the winner. The hedgehog knew the guy had to be strong with his quirk, but _now_ he knew that those explosions were trouble.

Sonic then smirked to himself. They were trouble…if Bakugo ever managed to land them.

Up front, Deku quietly sighed. "That's Kacchan for you…"

Sonic was going to say something, but heated scarlet eyes caught his attention. Bakugo was glaring up at him, breathing heavily while wiping the blood off his face. Sonic threw him a lopsided grin; the glare turned withering before the blonde walked off the stage, robots catering to the out-cold Kirishima.

"Well, guess you can't underestimate Dandy…" Kaminari trailed off as he watched his friend get carried away.

"Dude, you seriously can't let that slip when Bakugo gets back up here," Sero warned, nudging the electric boy.

Iida hummed as the arena cleared for the next fighters. "I can't say that I didn't expect this outcome. Bakugo is rather…persistent when he wants to be."

"Persistent is not the word I'd use…" Asui commented from her seat beside earlobe girl.

"Kirishima made an honest effort however!" Iida raised a finger confidently. "And that's what counts the most!"

Midoriya managed a smile. "That's true! He got to show off his quirk a bit even if he couldn't beat Kacchan."

"Yeah, standin' up to him for that long _has_ to gain some sort of attention!" Sonic added, beyond positive that Kirishima's going to get recognition.

All potential conversation was then put on hold when Mic shouted out, "Alright! Here comes our next fighters! The last ones of the first round!" The audience cheered. "From Class 1-A is the silent but potentially deadly Fumikage Tokoyami!"

Sonic watched as said boy strolled into view, his stare as sure as his walk. He was the one with the shadow monster, and if Sonic remembered right, he was going up against-

"And also from Class 1-A is Ochaco Uraraka! Her cheeks might be rosy, but don't you dare let your guard down around her!"

Uraraka appeared down in the arena as well, less confident than her feathered classmate.

"Give it all you got, you two!" Deku shouted down at the pair, but he was only looking at the brunette. Uraraka blinked up at him and nodded with the beginnings of a smile.

"Yeah, what he said!" Mic agreed with a laugh. "Get ready fighters! And… _begin!_ "

As soon as the announcer finished his sentence, an amorphous blob phased out of Tokoyami's stomach, its glowing eyes trained on Uraraka as sharp claws formed on either side of it.

"Now _that's_ a sight to see…" Sonic had seen the thing before during the Calvary battle, but he was getting a good look at the monster now. And jeez, he would _not_ want to see that thing in the middle of the night in a dark alleyway. The hedgehog then cocked his head, wondering if the shadow's appearance took after Tokoyami or vice versa.

Uraraka hadn't moved forward yet, getting into a ready stance and taking a deep breath. Sonic had no idea how this fight was going to go. He didn't know exactly what the shadow monster could do, and Uraraka could make things float by touch, right?

Sonic pursed his lips, believing that the 'touch only' thing might be a problem at the moment. "Will her quirk work on the shadow guy?"

"That's the question, isn't it?" Iida replied, a pensive frown on his face. "For her sake, I hope it will…"

Sonic hummed to himself, and at the same time, it seemed like Tokoyami's patience had ran out. "Go, Dark Shadow!"

The hedgehog stifled a chuckle, wondering how a certain rival of his would feel about that name.

"On it!" the creature cried out – to Sonic's surprise – and shot forward with its claws outstretched. Its body never disconnected from Tokoyami's. Uraraka wasn't scared at all as the monster launched itself at her, watching the shadow's approach.

Once Dark Shadow was a second away from colliding into her, Uraraka leaped to the side, causing the shadow to careen past her. Dark Shadow immediately made a U-turn, but the brunette didn't seem alarmed. In fact, she was smiling.

Her left hand shot out and touched the creature's elongated body. Dark Shadow blinked in surprise when he was hurled into the air.

And then Tokoyami gasped in shock because he too was suddenly airborne.

Deku's expression brightened as he leaned forward in his seat. "Her quirk works on Dark Shadow! On _both_ of them!"

"They are connected, so it makes sense that it affects them as one!" Iida was just as excited.

"Did she know that beforehand?" Sonic asked, watching as a wide-eyed Tokoyami floated up higher and higher in the air with Uraraka looking relieved beneath him.

"I don't think so!" Ashido answered him. "I think that she just took a really good guess! Which was risky, but it worked out for-"

"Dark Shadow!"

Tokoyami's voice interrupted the pinkette's words. The feathered boy was upside down in the air, his eyes focused on his shadowed partner. Dark Shadow – apparently getting used to the sudden turn of events – nodded at him before darting back towards the ground.

Back towards Uraraka.

Her widened eyes showed that she didn't expect this move, stumbling over her feet to get away from the creature. Its claws were out to grab. Uraraka tried to pull the same thing she did earlier, sidestepping when the other got too close, but Dark Shadow wasn't fooled this time.

Shadowed claws grabbed her midsection and hurled her in a random direction before her fingers could touch it again. Uraraka cried out as she flew; however, she cut herself off before pressing her fingers togehter.

Sonic watched as she slowed down in the air, her powers keeping herself afloat.

"Uraraka is out of bounds!" Midnight announced, and Sonic dropped his attention from the brunette to the white line she was floating a _bit_ too far over. Midoriya, Iida, and Uraraka seemed to slump in disappointment simultaneously. "Tokoyami wins!"

"Well _that_ was unexpected!"

Sero nodded at Kaminari's exclamation. "We thought Tokoyami was totally helpless when it was the complete opposite…"

Sonic has made the same mistake once or twice in his own adventures, but now he knew to never count his chickens before they hatched. Though, it really did look like she had won there with Tokoyami flailing in the air and everything.

Still floating, Uraraka sighed, touched her fingertips together again, and said, "Release!" She fell back down to the ground, landing on her feet. The brunette looked up in the direction of Tokoyami only to see him plummeting to the ground.

She gasped and began to run to catch him, but Dark Shadow gave her a thumbs up. "Don't worry. I got him!" His – Sonic assumed that it was a guy with how he sounded – words rang true, for he positioned himself under Tokoyami and held his arms out. The feathered boy landed safely in his hold.

"Thank you," Tokoyami said as he planted his feet on the ground. Dark Shadow smiled and nodded at him before disappearing back into his body.

Okay, so maybe Sonic shouldn't judge a book by its cover. Dark Shadow was very friendly…outside of battles, that is.

Tokoyami then turned to Uraraka and bowed. "That was a close battle. I didn't realize that your quirk would affect me through Dark Shadow."

Uraraka chuckled as she rubbed the back of her head. "I didn't either! But I figured that I should take the risk, you know?"

"Right." Tokoyami straightened back up, and there was the ghost of a smile on his face. "I'll see you back up in the stands." With that, he walked off. Uraraka closed her eyes and exhaled heavily before heading towards the tunnel she came out of.

"Let's take a five-minute break everyone before the next round starts!" Mic announced.

Sonic watched Deku watch Uraraka leave. "I hope she isn't feeling too bad because her loss…" the green-haired boy muttered.

The hedgehog nudged Midoriya's shoulder. "She'll bounce back! Everyone feels down if they don't win."

Iida nodded. "That's true, and plus, she knew from the start that Tokoyami wasn't a great match-up for her. He is a tough customer."

"Speaking of tough customers…" Kaminari muttered beside Sonic, and the speedster turned to see what the blonde was referring to. A smirk grew on his muzzle as Bakugo stalked back to his seat. The cut on his cheek was plain as day, untreated. The electric boy raised a hand to get the other's attention. "Couldn't you have gone a _bit_ easier on Kiri-"

"Shut the fuck _up_ , dunce-face!" Bakugo snarled as he sank into his seat.

Kaminari slumped a bit, visibly upset. "Don't care about _anyone's_ feelings, huh Dandy?" he murmured.

Bakugo must've heard anyway. He snarled, leaning forward in his chair. "The _fuck_ did you call me?!"

Sero gave Kaminari a look that clearly said 'I told you so', and the darker blonde curled up in his seat to make himself look smaller. It didn't work.

Sonic decided to help the guy out. "That was a pretty cool fight you had, Kacchan!" The molten glare was on the hedgehog now; it only made Sonic's smirk wider. "You're pretty handy with your quirk, yeah?"

"Of _course_ I am!" Bakugo snapped like it had been an insult, not a compliment. "And you better be _handy_ with your damn quirk too, Roadkill." Kacchan's eyes narrowed into slits. "You better beat Legs so I can kill your ass!"

Sonic guessed that 'Legs' was Iida. "Well, that's all up to him." He bobbed his head in the direction of the human speedster. "And don't you have to go against Tokoyami before you even get to me?"

"I'll destroy that chicken in a goddamn _heartbeat_." Bakugo boasted, tone gruff. "And you'll be next."

"You sound really sure that you can beat Sonic." Asui began, tilting her head a bit. "But didn't you see his fight? I personally don't think you'll be able to touch him, ribbit."

Sonic playfully winked at her as Kacchan roared, " _Anyone_ can beat Pikachu!" Sonic didn't know where that nickname came from, but with the way Kaminari groaned, it was probably as bad as dunce-face. "So shut up!"

Asui simply shrugged.

"Hello Uraraka!" Iida's voice caused heads to turn. The brunette waved at all of them before sitting in her seat between the Deku and the bifocaled boy. "That was a great match you had! We were on the edges of our seats!"

"Aw well…" The girl managed a smile, glancing over her shoulder as Tokoyami made his return. "Tokoyami outsmarted me in the end, so…" Her smile gained confidence. "So, I'll have to watch the rest of the fights and make this a learning experience!"

Iida seemed as happy as she was. "That's the spirit!"

Deku's gaze was fond, his lips twitching upwards before busying himself with flipping through his notebook.

Sonic was glad that he didn't have to give another pep talk. Though, something was still bothering him. He leaned closer to Kaminari, who rose a questioning eyebrow. "Hey…what's a pikachu?"

The blonde just hid his face in his hands.

* * *

"I hope you're paying close attention to the festival, Tomura Shigaraki. These students could prove formidable obstacles to you one day…especially the All Might recommendation."

"I'm not worried about a few kids." Slender fingers reached up and scratched a pale neck. Eyes shadowed by light blue hair never strayed from the television screen. "Is the thing up yet?"

"No. Be patient."

The fingers dug harder as he hummed to himself. Tomura's other hand clenched around a shining object that was cut like a diamond, covering the area in a dull green light. His pinky was up however, because he was very curious.

Curious about this rock and whatever had fallen from the sky.

* * *

"Aaannnndd our little break is over, everyone!"

Sonic blinked as Mic interrupted Sero's explanation of a video game character, Kaminari breathing out a sigh of relief. He punched Sero in the arm, and the black-haired kid playfully pushed him back.

Kirishima – who had woken up and returned to the stands – laughed as the two basically wrestled in their seats.

Sonic snickered to himself, those two reminding him of the matches he and Knuckles would have sometimes.

Midnight and Cementoss walked back onto the field, having disappeared when the break was called. The curvy woman went to stand on her podium. She raised her whip to gain everyone's attention. "Before we start round two of the tournament, I have an announcement to make! It's about whether Izuku Midoriya is disqualified or not from the festival!"

Mutterings filled the stadium, and Deku himself looked a little pale in the face.

"Us teachers and faculty discussed this topic," she continued, "And we decided that the injuries Monoma acquired were purely accidental. Midoriya moves on to the next round!"

There were some cheers, but there were also people who opposed…and they mostly came from Class 1-B.

Sonic drowned out their yelling though, focused on congratulating Midoriya. "See, Deku? I bet you were worried for nothin'!"

"Y-Yeah…" He stuttered a response, wiping his eyes to get rid of his happy tears. "I was just…he was hurt so _bad_ that…"

"Cheer up, Deku!" Uraraka softly nudged the boy. "You can't have an attitude like that and expect to win the whole thing!"

Midoriya took a deep breath and nodded. "You're right…" He sat up straighter in his seat. "I have to prove everyone else here that I'm a hero, and I can't do that being so negative all the time."

Sonic ruffled his fluffy hair. "Atta boy! Now you're gettin' it!"

"With that announcement out of the way…" Mic's excited voice filled the area once more. Sonic absently wondered why Aizawa was even up there next to him if the guy barely said anything. "Let's get started with the next round! I think that it's going to be an interesting first fight! It's Shinso versus Todoroki! Or should I say…mind versus body!"

Todoroki and Shinso entered the arena simultaneously. Roki's expression was blank as always, and Shinso's was the same as when he fought Ashido…wait. No, there was something else in those purple eyes as he stared at his opponent. It was…anger, but why? Did they have some sort of history?

"Predictions for this, Midoriya?" Iida asked his friend.

Deku glanced back and forth between the two fighters. "I don't know… Shinso's quirk is still a mystery. It's most likely activated with someone answering him, but it could be something else. But if that _is_ the case, Todoroki might be fine because he isn't that much of a talker…"

Sonic pursed his lips. "Wait, you guys haven't gotten the chance to tell him about Shino's quirk yet?"

There were head shakes all around.

"He never joined us up here," Uraraka explained, and Sonic pondered how much Roki would regret being antisocial.

"Hey wait, you're after this fight, right Midoriya?" Kirishima questioned. "Don't you want to go to the waiting room?"

"I should…" Deku seemed to think for a second before shaking his head. "…but I don't want to miss this fight."

Kirishima blinked before grinning. "I hear ya, man!"

"Are you two ready?!" Mic bubbly shouted. Neither fighters verbally responded to him. He just laughed. "I'll take that as a yes! Alright! And…begin!"

While Todoroki got into a fighting stance, his muscles tense, Shinso just smirked. It was void of any mirth however. "Look at this…'' The tired boy rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm up against Endeavor's son."

Sonic perked up at that even though Shinso's tone was throwing him for a loop. So Todoroki _was_ Endeavor's son? The number two hero? Well, now it kinda made sense that Roki was obsessed about him working with All Might and therefore beating him. Probably wanted to carry on the legacy or something.

The only reaction Todoroki had to the other's words was the subtle narrowing of his eyes.

Shinso scoffed, shrugging a single shoulder. "Sorry for not bowing at your feet, prince."

Roki wasn't the only one giving him a confused look.

"What's he doing?" Ashido asked, brow creased.

"…Trying to get a reaction out of him, maybe?" Midoriya guessed. "Which confirms the 'answering him activates his quirk' theory…"

"Yeah, Shinso's gotta try way harder to get him to talk." Sonic chuckled, though he was worried at what lengths the boy would go to do that. Shinso was mocking him, but it was anything but friendly.

"What, you're too good to talk to me?" Shinso continued his taunts, head cocked. "Is the recommended student too high and mighty to converse with the guy who couldn't even get into the hero department?"

Todoroki's lips thinned out, and when Sonic thought he was about to answer, a foot twitched and a line of ice protruded out of the ground, heading right for Shinso.

The general studies student quickly hopped out of the way, his stance wide and his smirk as frozen as the attack he avoided. Shinso glanced toward the audience, and Sonic's followed his line of sight to see Endeavor. The flaming man was frowning down at the fight with his arms folded across his chest.

"Is daddy going to ground you for interacting for a potential _villain_ like me?" Shinso pushed before shrugging again, refocusing on his opponent. "I get it, you're scared of being punished because you've always been a _perfect_ little boy with a _perfect_ quirk living a _perfect_ life."

Todoroki seemed to tense up at this, his fists beginning to clench up at his sides. Anger was etching itself in to his expression, and Sonic couldn't blame him. Shinso wasn't just doing this to get the other to talk; there was something else buried that was clawing its way up.

Sonic looked between the two fighters before lingering on the purple haired-boy. If he put himself in Shinso's shoes – having a quirk everyone distrusts you for and going against the son of a hero with an amazing quirk – he guessed he could see why Shinso was acting like this. But, did he have to be _so_ hostile? Todoroki didn't choose his quirk!

Sonic had to ask, "Have those two had problems before?"

"I…don't think so!" Midoriya was biting his bottom lip. "The only time we've seen Shinso was a couple days before the festival."

The hedgehog forwent anymore conversation when another blast of ice was hurled in Shinso's direction. The brainwashwer jumped out of the way a second time only to be trapped between the two walls of ice, Todoroki, and the out-of-bounds line.

Shinso languidly searched around him like he hadn't just been put into a bad situation. His eyes found Roki's again. There was a stare down for a moment. Todoroki's jaw as clenched, but Shinso was calm, if only a little out of breath.

It was quiet – even the crowd was shocked into silence – until Shinso spoke again. His words were sharp and cold. "Almost makes me want to ask what happened to your face." The dual-colored boy went rigid, and Sonic knew that he was crossing into dangerous territory. If Roki hadn't wanted to talk about it in private, there was no way he was going to do it out here in front of everyone.

Shinso scoffed again, throwing the unhappy Endeavor another glimpse. "Guess your dad _did_ punish you one day, huh? I wonder if your mom was there to watch-"

He was cut off when ice too fast to dodge struck him square in the chest. Shinso shouted out as he was flung backwards. He flew over the line before hitting the ground hard and tumbling a few feet.

Shinso clutched his chest – clearly in pain – as he struggled to get back to stand up. Todoroki was glaring at him; it powerful enough to send a chill down anyone's spine. "You _don't_ know me."

The brainwashwer opened his mouth to respond, but coughs wracked his system. He covered his lips with his hand and pulled it away when the episode ended. There was a splatter of blood.

Todoroki was walking away at this point.

Midnight had concern in her eyes as she raised her whip. "Shinso is out of bounds, Todoroki moves on!" There were weak cheers as the general studies student left the arena, his hand still clutching his chest.

"I've…never seen Todoroki that _mad_ before." Kaminari was gaping, his brow furrowed.

"Well, Shinso _did_ insult his family." Kirishima was frowning. "Which isn't manly at all."

Sonic felt Kaminari's gaze on him. "Sonic, I don't know what's wrong with that dude, but I think that you should stay from him. He's bad news."

The speedster wasn't going to argue with him. Not because he agreed, but because what just happened wasn't great proof that Shinso was actually a good guy.

He didn't answer his neighbor, instead watching as Deku hopped up with a troubled expression, nearly sprinting away to get to the arena in time.

Sonic was a second from running out of the stands himself to make sure Shinso made it to Recovery Girl, but he figured that the other wouldn't like company. At least right now. Sonic was going to confront him after all of this was over though.

And then there was Todoroki…

Sonic looked over at the spot Endeavor had been standing only to see it empty. Hopefully the father went to calm Roki down. Because that was rough.

"Uh…well…" Mic was stumbling over his words in the commentator box. "I wasn't lying when I said that it would be interesting!" He turned to Aizawa. "Wasn't it interesting, Mummy Man?" The wrapped teacher noncommittally hummed. Mic faced back forward, observing as Cementoss worked some magic to crush the ice since Endeavor was absent. "He has such a way with words, ladies and gentlemen! The next fight will start once the field is clear!"

For once, the students of 1-A were all quiet…until Ashido hesitantly spoke up. "I have always been curious about Todoroki's scar…" She looked like she already regretted her next words. "Do you think that his dad actually-?"

"We shouldn't make assumptions!" Iida interjected loudly.

Yaoyorozu nodded. "And we shouldn't talk about people who aren't here, especially about that kind of subject. If he had wanted us to know, he would have told us."

"You're right, you're right!" Ashido slumped in her seat. "Sorry! I wasn't thinking!"

Conversation lulled again, and Sonic decided that it was time for a change of subject. "Does anyone remember who Deku's goin' up against?"

Tokoyami was the one to answer him. "If I remember correctly, he's going to fight the other student of Class 1-B who was on your Calvary team."

"Tsuburaba?" Sonic felt bad for Midoriya. This match wasn't going to be fun either. Tsuburaba had been friends with Monoma… "Oh boy…"

"Deku is going to have to ignore the looks…" Concern was laced in Uraraka's tone. "But he can pull through, I know it."

"If he doesn't let Tsuburaba get close to him, he should be fine," Yaoyorozu commented, speaking from experience. Sonic agreed with her, since he hadn't seen the brunette perform any long-rang attacks. But then again, Deku's quirk was super strength, so he _had_ to get in close, right?

"Okay audience, let's resume the festival!" Mic pointed down at the untouched arena. "Everything's cleared up, so let's bring out our next fighters! It's Tsuburaba versus Midoriya! Once again, it's the clashing of the two hero courses! Show yourselves!"

Tsuburaba walked out first, and Class 1-B went wild.

"You can do it!"

"Get revenge for Monoma!"

"Beat his _ass!_ "

Tsuburaba glanced up in their direction and nodded, radiating determination.

Midoriya then made his appearance, and Class 1-B began booing. Sonic peeked at his peers, them all sharing the same thought. Most of them stood up and cheered Deku on.

"Show your power, Midoriya!" Iida yelled.

Uraraka cupped her mouth. "Don't let them get to you!"

"Make it a great fight!" Sonic called, making both Deku and Tsuburaba focus on him. He gave the pair a thumbs up, and Midoriya smiled while Tsuburaba sighed.

"If you two are ready…" Mic started. "…begin!"

Like in his fight with Yaoyorozu, the 1-B student started with an all-out sprint right for Deku. Midoriya, on the other hand, didn't move. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, outstretching his hand.

"I'm sorry!" were his only words before aiming at his adversary and flicking his pointer finger.

A loud sound akin to a clap of thunder nearly made Sonic jump out of his skin. Though, he didn't have any time to dwell on that because there were suddenly hurricane-force winds aiming right at the unprepared brunette.

Tsuburaba didn't get a chance to yell when he was hit.

Sonic gasped when the gales reached the stands, covering his face from any flying debris. The students around him did the same, his quills whipping in the wind along with their clothes.

The hedgehog had been forced back into his seat, the winds refusing to let him move – they were _that_ strong. And Midoriya…he did this with just a _flick of a finger?!_

A handful of seconds passed before Sonic dared to lower his arms, blinking his eyes back open. Looking around, he saw that many of the students' hair were messed up, and they seemed as shocked as Sonic felt.

He snapped his attention back to the arena to see that Midoriya was the only one standing on it. The green-haired boy was lightly panting, gripping his wrist. Sonic leaned forward in his seat, and his eyes promptly widened at the sight of the horribly broken finger the boy was sporting. So Asui hadn't been lying…

Sonic then searched for Tsuburaba only to find him slouched against the opposite concrete wall, grimacing as he rubbed the back of his head and staring at Deku like he'd grown a third arm.

"And that was _another_ quick one, folks!" Mic was beyond thrilled. "What power! Aizawa, what are you teaching these kids?!"

"This is all them," was his drawled-out answer.

When Midnight had declared Deku the winner, Iida and Uraraka applauded, Sonic loudly whistled, and some of the others cheered for him. That got the rest of the audience going, warming up to and supporting Midoriya as well.

And of course, the boy looked like he was about to cry.

However, no tears spilled as he held his arm carefully to his side and jogged over to where Tsuburaba was having a hard time getting up. Deku held out his unharmed hand. Tsuburaba stared at it for a second before accepting the gesture, getting up to his feet with an appreciative small upturn of his lips.

Deku led the limping student out of the field, most likely heading towards Recovery Girl.

"That was insane!" Sonic chirped as he stood out of his seat. "He used _one_ finger and basically caused a tornado! He told me that he had super strength, but that-"

"He's _not_ anything special, _dammit!_ " Bakugo snarled at him. "Hurry and fucking _leave_ already!"

"That was rude, y'know." Sonic wagged a finger. "Gotta work on that, mister!"

"Don't treat me like a stupid _kid-"_

"I hate to admit this, but Bakugo is right on one account." Iida inserted himself into the conversation as he stood up as well. He nodded towards the exit of the stands. "We do need to hurry down there before we're late!"

"Pfft." Sonic scoffed, putting a hand on his hip. "I'm _never_ late."

When he shifted his weight, Iida reached out a hand. "No! As the rules say, you mustn't run in the ha-"

Sonic was already gone.

* * *

The noises, the lights, the people, the movement...everything was too much.

Every honk of a car, every conversation he passed by, every footstep made his brain feel like it was about to explode. He saw and felt cautious eyes on him, but those were the last things he was worried about. He needed help, serious help.

He knew that he was staggering as he walked with one eye screwed shut. He knew that he was bleeding – from where, he didn't know – and that he was leaving a trail on the sidewalk. He knew that he was holding his head like some crazy person. But no, he wasn't crazy. He was just…

He cried out and plugged his ears when a particularly close car honked long and hard at a jaywalker. He was nearly sent to his knees when his migraine made him want to tear his fur out.

He just wanted to get to a hospital…

It was close…wasn't it? He had asked someone, they pointed in this direction, but…

" _I bet you all couldn't wait for this fight!"_ He grinded his teeth together at the loud voice, ears plastering themselves against his pounding head. _"These two are obviously quick on their feet, but who will come out on top? It's time for Iida versus Sonic!"_

He froze.

Sonic…?

He whipped his head in the direction of the voice, instantly regretting so when his world tilted on its axis. Stumbling over his own feet before righting himself, his eyes searched all around. He followed the sound of cheering until he turned a corner.

There were people huddled in front a television screen in the window of store, taking up most of the sidewalk. He shuffled closer to them, needing to see what they were looking at. The ones who noticed him gasped before taking a few steps away, but he didn't care.

"…looks hurt…"

"Is he crazy…homeless…?"

"…naked…"

He tuned those voices out as he watched. When a very familiar figure showed up on the screen, grinning and stretching his muscles, he felt relief flow through his veins. Sonic was okay…he was…where was he…?

Dull yellow eyes shifted to the closest person. The man's skin was green, but he believed that was the pain making him hallucinate. "Where…" He weakly pointed at the TV. "Is…that…?"

The man seemed lost for a moment before answering, "U.A. academy in Musutafu…"

He furrowed his brow. "What…" He'd never…never heard of…

"Hey," the man whispered, taking a wary step towards him and squatting. He went to take a step back, but he leaned too far; the guy caught his arm to rebalance him. "You don't look too good, let me take you to the hos-"

"N-No!" He rose his voice, hissing at the pain it caused. "I need to get to…" He gestured at the screen again, words failing him as his vision began to blur.

"Across the country?" The man's voice was muddled now, like he was talking underwater. "You won't make it in this state. Just let me-"

He struggled to get away. He needed to get to Sonic because he was alone and hurt and Sonic _wasn't_ and.. _._

The man tightened his hold, and he tried to use his powers. The guy only stumbled backwards a few feet. His pounding head made his knees buckle, an agonized yell being ripped out of his throat from the strain. The concrete under him was unforgiving.

The man sounded surprised and panicked, but he couldn't make out what the other was saying anymore.

Darkness quickly consumed him after that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooo…stuff's happening!
> 
> Oh, and if you're confused to why Shinso acted like that, here's my reasoning. On the surface, Todoroki and Shinso are opposite to one another. One has a quirk that people basically love him for - with the help of his hero dad - while the other has a quirk that people hate him for. So yeah, Shinso holds a bit of resentment. Just a little. If only he knew the truth...


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Sonic learns about trash dad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m really happy that I got this up before March was over! Leaving you all with no update until April would’ve been too cruel.

Sonic was under the spotlight again once Present Mic announced him and Iida as the next competitors.

The crowd was roaring in excitement, and Sonic met all of it with a broad smile and a friendly wave. He had an inkling that people had been looking forward to this fight, considering how many of them were leaning forward on the edges of their seats.

Class 1-A was no exception, half of them focused on Sonic and the other half were staring at the approaching Iida. Bakugo as glaring down at the hedgehog as per usual, and again, Todoroki was standing by himself, watching on. The dual-colored boy didn't look angry anymore, more stoic now.

Sonic pursed his lips in thought before shaking his head. He'd deal the Roki and Shinso drama later. _Now_ was the time to have fun and let loose.

Reaching the fighting arena, Sonic stretched the muscles in his legs, lunging side to side. When Iida reached his spot opposite of him, the hedgehog jovially called out, "You better give it your all, Iida!"

The human speedster nodded in determination. "I will! And same to you!"

Sonic just grinned at that. He shouldn't give it his all because one, he wanted to see what Iida could do against him, and two, ending this battle as fast as he ended Kaminari's wouldn't be fun. Without the chance of being electrocuted, Sonic was going to take his time with this one. If Iida let him, that is.

"Alright! Let's get this fight started!" Mic announced enthusiastically. "Are you ready down here?!"

Sonic finished stretching, his adrenaline pumping. "Always!"

"Then… _begin!_ "

Iida didn't waste a second activating his boosters, shooting off to the side. Sonic watched him take a roundabout way to close the distance, understanding why he did it. Iida had been afraid of getting taken out like Kaminari had.

Sonic smirked at his opponent before copying the other's movements. Meeting Iida's speed – which took no effort at all – the hedgehog followed a curved path to where the boy had been standing. Sonic looked eyes with Iida as his feet thudded against the ground. His smirk met the other's pensive frown.

"You're not catchin' me, Iida! You gotta step it up!" Sonic taunted.

The azure hero skidded to a stop when the student did, the fighters now standing opposite of where they entered, still across the field from each other.

Sonic put a hand on his lip while Iida cradled his chin. "Yes, it is true that we are at least evenly matched in speed, but…" His glasses glinted in the light, and Sonic got no warning before Iida decided to rush straight at him.

Iida was tired of the indirect, huh? Sonic had no problems with that.

He darted forward as well, wondering what was going on in the blue-haired teen's mind. When they were a second away from colliding, Sonic was about to throw a punch aimed at the other's midsection – planning to stop Iida in his tracts – but the teen apparently had other ideas.

"Recipiro burst!"

If Sonic hadn't jumped in the air that last _millisecond_ , he would've taken a devastating kick to his side. He mentally thanked all of the fights he had against Shadow and Metal Sonic that improved his reaction time. He cleared Iida's head and landed in a crouch.

He whirled around, ready for another attack, but he blinked in confusion seeing Iida kneeling, not moving. There was no more fire coming out of his engines, and Sonic made the connection.

Seeing that engine failure was worse than he initially thought, Sonic almost felt bad for him. "We gotta work on somehow this problem, bud!" He suggested as he jogged back over to the downed student. "Because stalling is _real_ risky business, especially fighting a bad g-"

Sonic interrupted himself with a sharp yell when a jet-powered foot collided with his side, launching him backwards. Pain immediately blossomed where he was struck, and he hissed when he harshly landed on the concrete under him.

The hedgie barely had anytime to think before his ankle was roughly grabbed. "I can make it in five seconds!" Those were the words he heard before wind began whipping through his quills.

Alright, Sonic knew that he had to do something _now_ , or he could kiss this win goodbye.

Ignoring the painful throbbing of his side as he was dragged through the air, Sonic blinked down at the blurred ground and then at Iida's legs that were anything _but_ powered down. Blue fire was pouring out of the pipes, and Sonic knew that he was about to get burned for the second time in this festival.

The timing had to be perfect. One leg had to be stepping, and the other had to be raised enough to be within reach. Oh yeah, and Sonic was on a timer.

Luckily enough, Sonic was called the fasting thing alive for a reason.

His arms shot out when he had a chance to, and he wrapped his arms about the muscled calf, taking a chest-full of hot flames. Sonic bit his lip to keep from crying out, this fire way hotter than Todoroki's.

Iida's gasp was audible, and they both crashed onto the unforgiving ground. The grip on Sonic's leg had loosened, and he immediately rolled away from his opponent, the incoming bruise screaming at him as he did so.

Sonic was deeply panting when he fully sat up, and his eyes widened at how close to the line he was. It was barely a meter away from where he sat. Sonic then shifted his attention down to his chest, his uniform burnt away and his skin underneath red and blistering.

He'd never been happier for Recovery Girl's existence because _ouch._

"Iida is out of bounds!" Sonic perked up a Midnight's voice, eyes snapping to the human speedster. Iida was on his hands and knees, his upper body over the line. The engines in his legs were spewing black smoke; it was no question that he was stalled now. "Sonic moves on to the next round!"

As the crowd cheered, Sonic gingerly held his side – making sure to avoid his angry burn – and got to his feet. "That was a…" Sonic sucked in a breath when his uniform rubbed against the redness. "…pretty cool trick you did back there! Totally got me good!"

Iida obviously wasn't too happy about the outcome of the fight, but then his expression morphed to one of horror and guilt when he caught sight of Sonic's condition. "You shouldn't have done what you did!" He got up to his feet and approached Sonic, eyes contrite yet stern. "You shouldn't have grabbed my leg! That was incredibly unsafe!"

Sonic had done _many_ things that were incredibly unsafe in his life, but he was still here. This burn was pretty tame compared.

Sonic managed a grin. "Gotta do what you need to do to stop a villain, right?" Iida opened his mouth to argue, but he couldn't find the words. The student was still downcast however. Sonic waved the boy off. "Don't worry about me, yeah? Mrs. RG will fix me up!"

"As the cause of your injuries, I am allowed to worry!" Iida rebutted. "I'll escort you to the nurse's office!" Sonic was about to argue, but the boy refused to let him get a word in. "I will not take no as an answer! I'll leave once you get there, if you wish."

Sonic blinked before shrugging. "Alright." He began to walk in the direction of the exit, Iida keeping in step beside him. "I'm not gonna pass out of anythin'."

"I realize! The type of injuries you have wouldn't cause you to black out, but…" Sonic looked up at the boy as they entered the tunnel, leaving the arena. Iida took a breath. "I would not feel right if I let you go by yourself."

Sonic scoffed, a chuckle escaping him and causing pain to spread from his burn. "I may look like it, but I'm not frail, pal. And plus, you only caused half of my injuries! _I_ was the one who grabbed your flamin' leg."

Iida reluctantly nodded. "This is true, but still! You have to care about your own health!"

"I do care!" Sonic chirped. "That's why I'm going to Mrs. RG!"

The taller student eyed him, lips subtly curling downwards. "I'm getting the impression that you are somewhat reckless."

Only somewhat? Oh, did he have a lot to learn.

But he decided to be ambiguous to avoid any potential rants. Iida seemed like the ranting type. "Eh, more or less."

Unluckily for him, that was apparently enough to unleash a whole lesson of self-preservation upon him.

As they walked the halls, Sonic had given up in trying to give his opinion because Iida was on a _roll_. He swore the kid hadn't taken a breath in the last five minutes.

Then, Sonic was freed from his torture when a sharp ring pierced the air. Iida paused in his rant before reaching into his pocket. His face fell as he looked at his phone; he answered it anyway. "Hello Mother, I meant to call right after the match…"

Sonic wasn't really the nosey type, but it was hard to not listen to a conversation while he was walking right beside it. Though, he couldn't make out the words coming out of the phone.

Iida deeply sighed. "I know that I shouldn't be upset, but…my brother…" He ran his fingers through his hair as the pair turned a corner, coming up on the nurse's office. "I know he'd still be proud…"

Sonic's eyes slightly widened when a familiar face showed up down the hall, stepping out of RG's room. Tired eyes looked in their direction, and the hedgehog noticed the slight hesitation in Iida's step.

To avoid unnecessary awkwardness, Sonic nudged Iida and whispered, "You can go back! I think I can make it to the room without a problem!"

Iida seemed to think for a moment, his gaze flickering to Shinso who was just standing there, before nodding and turning on his heel. The last thing Sonic heard him say was, "Speaking of Tensei, have you heard from him…?"

Sonic thought that he was going to put up more of a fight like before, but it seemed that Shinso wasn't on Iida's 'favorite person' list at the moment.

As Sonic approached the brainwasher, Shinso took in his condition, a small frown marring his face. "Saw your fight from the screen." He bobbed his head in the direction of the office. "A second later, and you would've ended up a spectator like me."

Sonic rolled his eyes, stepping up to the other. "I had it in the bag! He just caught me off-guard, that's all."

Shinso rubbed the back of his neck, his other hand shoved in his pocket. "Sometimes that's all it takes."

"Yeah, yeah." Sonic knew that the other wasn't going to bring it up, so he might as well. There was no reason to beat around the bush. "Enough with your words of wisdom. Wanna talk about what happened back there between you and Roki?"

"It was to get a rise out of him," Shinso said simply like he was speaking about the weather, not a boy he basically verbally abused.

"That was more than enough to get him to talk!" Slightly surprised eyes landed on Sonic, and he explained, "It wasn't that hard to figure out-" With the help of Deku. "-but anyway, you insulted his family! And the thing about his scar? That's seriously not cool."

If Shinso was affected at all by his words, it didn't show at all. His tired and slightly exasperated expression never changed. "I needed him to talk, so I went with the hard hitters."

"You didn't need to go that far, did you?" Shinso was the one to roll his eyes this time, and Sonic put a hand on his hip only to tense up, temporarily forgetting that was where his bruise was. He pushed the pain aside for a moment; he was channeling his inner Iida. "Look, I know that some people might not like your quirk, but you can't just-"

"Go let Recovery Girl fix you up."

* * *

Sonic blinked, and he was suddenly in Mrs. RG's room, sitting on one of her beds.

"I see that you're back to your old self again."

The hedgehog whipped his head in the direction of the familiar voice, confusion swirling in his veins. The short elderly woman was holding up his slightly tattered but still wearable shirt.

Sonic still didn't understand as he held his hand out to take the clothing. "Old self…?" However, when the movement was subtly restricted by something wrapped around his body. He glanced down to see bandages covering the areas where his burn and bruise were.

The nurse seemed amused by this. "Well, I would guess that you were being stubborn about coming here. That's why your friend outside used his quirk to-"

At the word 'quirk', it was like the thick fog in his brain cleared right up.

"Shinso! That tricky little…" Sonic grabbed his shirt and put it on as he hopped down from the bed. He aimed a small grin at the woman. "Just to let you know, _I_ wasn't the one bein' stubborn, and I need to go before he gets too far away!"

Sonic ran to the door and yanked it open. He called out a, "Thanks for fixin' me!" over his shoulder before zooming out.

The speedster was thinking about how big the stadium was, how Shinso probably knew the _best_ places to hide around here, and how he was gonna rip the 'sorry' out of the guy.

However, all thoughts screeched to a halt, for Shinso hadn't gone anywhere. He was lazily leaning against the wall beside the office with an entertained smirk on his face.

Sonic stomped over to him and huffed. "Don't do that again, pal! I was in the middle of a sentence!"

The smirk hadn't gone away. "Don't ask me about the fight again, and I won't."

Sonic was about to argue some more, but he was distracted by the loud roar of the crowd that echoed through the halls. Sonic's breath hitched when he realized that he was missing Bakugo's and Tokoyami's fight.

So instead of continuing the conversation, the hedgehog jabbed a finger against the other's stomach. "You're not off the hook, I hope you know that."

"For not answering your questions, or for brainwashing you?"

"Both!"

"I figured."

"You got a quip for everything, don't you?"

"The best way to get a response out of someone is to annoy them, I've learned."

Sonic absently wondered if this was how people felt talking to himself on a daily basis. Yeah, he had his own bank of witty remarks to use in almost every situation, but he didn't use them for bad…most of the time.

The hedgehog knew that he wasn't getting through to Shinso now, but he _would_. Eventually. "You're lucky that I want to see my classmates fight, or else I'd-"

"Bother me some more." Shinso finished for him, bobbing his head in the direction Sonic came from. "Yeah, yeah. Go ahead." Sonic gave him a look, clearly communicating 'I _will_ get that sorry', before shifting his weight and getting ready to bolt back to the stands. However, Shinso's voice made him pause. "And you better win this whole damn thing."

Sonic snorted, a grin unconsciously growing on his muzzle. "Oh, I will, brainwash not necessary!"

That pulled an almost-chuckle out of the other, and with that, Sonic threw out a wave and swiftly departed.

The hallways were a blur as he hurriedly made his way back to the designated bleachers. Barely fifteen seconds passed until he made it back to Class 1-A's seats, eyes glued to the fighting field. All he saw was Kacchan and Tokoyami exiting on the opposite sides of the arena.

"Aw man! I missed it!" he complained, announcing his presence. "Who won?"

"Dandy did!" Kaminari provided as Sonic retook his seat beside the blonde. "Turns out that Dark Shadow is weak to light! And of course Bakugo took _full_ advantage of that."

Sonic couldn't be that surprised at this new information. With a name like _Dark Shadow_ , a weakness to light would have been the speedster's first guess. Sonic felt bad for Tokoyami, but at the same time, he got to battle Kacchan after this next battle. Now _that_ would be fun.

"But enough of that." Kaminari nudged him, an enthusiastic grin on his face. "Let's talk about your and Iida's fight! I knew what I was talking about when I said that you had no fear, man!"

"Yeah, not everyone can take flames right to the chest!" Sero was awed. "You got some major courage!"

"Don't encourage such behavior!" Iida chastised from up front. "It had been dangerous and unnecessary-"

"Doesn't Deku hurt himself when he uses his quirk?" Sonic asked, knowing that he'd trapped the other in the argument.

Uraraka pursed her lips. "He's got you there, Iida…"

"No, he doesn't!" It seemed like Sonic was wrong; that it was almost impossible to keep Iida from ranting. He _was_ class president for a reason, Sonic guessed. "In Midoriya's situation, it had been necessary!"

Sonic linked his hands behind his head, leaning back in his chair. "Well Iida, it was either take on the flames or lose the fight. One had a _huge_ priority over the other. Take a guess!"

"Just don't make it a habit!"

"Oh, it's _been_ a habit."

Iida seemed to shut down, mouth agape.

Kaminari barked out a laugh. "Dude, you're _quickly_ moving up my list of favorite people. Kirishima, you got competition!"

The red-head sent the blonde a pout, pretending to be hurt by this. "C'mon, bro! I can't compete with that! He's the first person to prove that the class rep is actually a robot!"

The two burst out in laughter, and Sonic couldn't help to join in. Iida fit the robot act to a _tee_ with his choppy movements.

"And here it is, folks!" Mic interrupted their mirth, his smile wide in the commentator box. "The start of the semi-finals! Enter classmates from Class 1-A: Midoriya and Todoroki!" Cheers filled the air as the two fighters walked into the light. "It's a battle of power! We all know what kind of damage these two can do!"

Deku, who was an odd mixture of nervous and confident, visibly winced at those words. No doubt that brought back the memory of Monoma.

Sonic then focused on Todoroki, who was calmly walking up to the field, his piercing eyes trained on his opponent. The hedgehog recalled that Roki was adamant in both beating him _and_ Deku. But, considering the amount of power Midoriya had behind a _flick_ of a _finger_ …Sonic had no idea how this fight was going to go.

"You guys think that Todoroki calmed down enough from his last fight to not kill Midoriya?" Sero asked.

"Todoroki kill _Midoriya?_ " Ashido repeated, shocked. "You mean the other way around! Nevermind a finger, imagine if Midoriya _punched_ him!"

"Are you two ready?" Mic regarded the two students in the arena, and Sonic figured that Sero and Ashido would get their answers soon enough. Todoroki and Midoriya simply stared at each other, and Mic took that in stride. "Alrighty then! Let's…begin!"

Roki didn't waste any time, jagged pillars of ice immediately chasing Midoriya down. Deku didn't look concerned – alright, maybe a little – as he grabbed his right wrist. His clenched his teeth, raised his arm, and flicked one of his fingers when the ice was about to strike with no remorse.

Thunder clapped around the arena, and the winds whipped up again. Sonic had one eye covered as the other watched in awe as the shock wave of the flick sliced right through the ice, hitting Todoroki with enough force to send him sliding backwards. Small walls of ice formed and broke behind Roki in attempt to save him from flying out of bounds.

The dual-colored boy eventually slammed his back against sturdy enough ice to stop him in his path. Todoroki lowered the arms protecting his face, revealing his sharp gaze and wind-blown hair.

While everyone broke into amazed chatter around him, Sonic remained speechless. Deku just…stopped the attack just like _that!_ However, before he could get too pumped, Sonic noticed that, again, Midoriya's finger was broken. So did that mean that he could only use that move eight times? Could Roki endure it for that long?

Sonic pushed those thoughts away as Todoroki stood up straight, breathing out visibly chilled air. "Is that all you got?" his voice was as cold as his quirk, the boy producing more ice racing toward Deku like a missile.

Another whirlwind destroyed the crystals, them raining down all over the field. Midoriya was clenching his teeth in obvious pain, continuing to hold on to his trembling hand now sporting two broken fingers. Todoroki had stopped himself yet again with pillars of ice, enduring the force of the hit.

"Those attacks look _brutal,_ " Kaminari winced.

"Not as brutal as Midoriya breaking his fingers!" Ashido glanced down at her own digits. "I can't imagine doing that to myself!"

Sonic had to completely agree with both of them.

Todoroki peeled himself from his ice and shot forward only to be blasted again. His back crashed against the crystals he formed, and Sonic knew he had to be _covered_ in bruises by this point.

Roki shook the attack off, jaw clenched. He attempted to rush Deku again, but this time, a huge ramp of ice formed under his steps. Midoriya gasped as the other gained height and readied to flick his last finger.

Deku sent a shock wave his opponent's way only for Todoroki to clear the attack with a jump. The ramp behind him shattered while the heterochromatic boy clenched a fist and aimed for a wide-eyed Midoriya.

The green-haired teen hastily jumped out of the way with a loud gasp as Todoroki punched the spot where he had been standing. Midoriya only had his thumb remaining on his right hand, so he switched to his left, throwing Todoroki back with a desperate flick.

Deku cradled his hand in agony, watching as more distance was put in between him and Roki. Todoroki was subtly panting as he stood straight, and Sonic leaned a bit in his seat, furrowing his brow at the small patches of ice on the boy's right side. And was he…trembling? Was this what happened when he only used one side during a fight?

Midoriya seemed to have noticed this too. "Y-You're shivering, Todoroki…" He took a deep breath, controlling his pained voice. "Is it because of your quirk?"

Todoroki didn't answer him, his eyes narrowing as his trembling subtly increased.

Deku eyed his classmate, concern showing in his gaze. "I haven't seen you use your fire side, and that's why you're cold, isn't it? Why haven't you…?"

"Because I don't need it," Todoroki interrupted him, lips thinned.

"Don't need it?" Midoriya's eyebrows creased. "You look like you're pushing your limits…" He clenched his left hand, and Sonic – along with the rest of the class – flinched at the sight of the broken finger curling up. "And you haven't put a scratch on me! I'm nowhere near finished, and you shouldn't be eith-"

Todoroki stopped his sentence by sending out more ice pillars. However, everyone could see that they weren't as big or as fast moving as the ones he pulled off earlier. Deku flicked his middle finger, and Roki grunted at the impact.

The ice didn't stop him until he was near the white line, being an extreme close call.

"He's getting tired…" Sonic muttered, wondering exactly how much more he could take.

Iida heard him and nodded. "Quirks are affected by stamina as well, using big attacks like that over and over are taking its toll."

Sonic's lips pulled down in a frown. He almost wished that he had asked Roki the reason why he didn't use his fire back in the hallway. Because this…he wasn't using his full potential. And then his dad was watching! Didn't he want to impress him?

Thoughts going unanswered, Sonic watched as Todoroki struggled to separate himself from the pile of loose pillars, the ice not as sturdy. His shaking was more prominent now.

"I don't know what's going on, but…" Midoriya held up his hand, ready to fire. "If you want to win, Todoroki, you have to give it your all!"

It was like Roki wasn't hearing his words, for he shot more ice at Deku as he ran away from the line. Midoriya stopped both the boy and the attack with a powerful whirlwind, raining crystals and causing Todoroki to lose his footing.

He hit the ground hard and slid across the concrete, crying out when he slammed against a pillar that was once more _very_ close to the perimeter.

Todoroki's body was battered and trembling violently as he struggled to lift himself off the ground. Finally on his feet, he stumbled forward on wobblily legs. Despite the condition of his body, his gaze was still hard and unwavering.

Midoriya was getting a bit frustrated. "What's the point in not using it? I don't understand! You have it for a reason, don't you?"

"I w-will win…" Roki rasped out, voice breathy. "On my _own_ terms, no one else's."

"But you _won't_ win only using half of what you got!" Deku's confusion was palpable. "I just…I just think it's _stupid_ that you're choosing to use only half of your potential!"

That brought out a reaction. It wasn't much, but Todoroki's eyes marginally widened before narrowing again. Then, Sonic was surprised when the bi-colored gaze glanced up at him for a split second. What was that?

Roki stared silently at Deku, and Midoriya was just waiting for any kind of answer. The answer he got was unexpected. With a swipe of his arm, Todoroki created a large wall of ice that passed between him and Midoriya. Roki was suddenly hidden from sight, and Deku eyed the giant structure warily, it glinting in the sun.

"Y-You say it's idiotic to only use half of my potential…" Todoroki's voice was trembling yet strong coming from behind the barrier. There was a long pause, Midoriya looking unsure on the field. "I say that it's idiotic to only use a third."

"He's talking in riddles…" Kaminari cocked his head a bit. "I think that he's so tired that he's delusional…"

Sonic shook his head, mind whirling. "I don't think that's it." Roki was up to something. Only a third? He had three quirks? He had fire and ice and possibly – Sonic perked up before smirking himself. Oh, he was up to something alright.

Turned out that he was right, for a few seconds ticked by until a loud roar filled the stadium. Before anyone could question it, the wall of ice suddenly collapsed as rushing water crashed right through the barrier.

Midoriya cried out in shock and instinctively flicked his last available finger. The whipping winds slashed through the water carrying chunks of ice, scattering the liquid…but the onslaught didn't stop.

More water shot right for the boy, and Deku quickly backpaddled while looking down at his disfigured hands. All he had were two thumbs. Midoriya placed his right thumb in his mouth, aimed, and got slammed with the force of a gushing river.

His yell was swallowed up as his body submerged in the liquid, crashing into the wall of the arena not a second later.

Sonic's jaw was agape as the pressure of the water decreased, it safely flowing all over the concrete stage. "That…was _awesome."_

"Todoroki can do water too?!" Kirishima exclaimed. "I didn't…since _when?!_ " The rest of the class burst out in amazed and confused chatter, and Sonic mentally patted himself on his back.

Midnight seemed a mix of flabbergasted and annoyed – she was drenched – as she raised her whip. "Midoriya is out of bounds!" And unconscious, for the student was slumped over in the wet grass. Uraraka and Iida were looking on sympathetically. "Todoroki is the winner!"

Sonic snapped his attention to the only student left on the field. Roki was on his knees, panting harshly with his eyes locked on Deku. The frost on his right side was nearly all gone. The tired teen's attention then shifted down to his arms. Sonic silently gasped at the large angry burn mark on his right arm; it was in the shape of a hand.

"Aizawa!" Mic exclaimed, voice filled with wonder. "What _are_ your students?!"

This time, Aizawa was caught off guard as well. "…Heroes in training."

Kaminari groaned and held his head in his hands. "Todoroki was already badass, and then he pulls _this?_ "

Sonic shot up to his feet. His fight was next, and he needed to catch Roki before he disappeared again. About to run off, Sonic ruffled the blonde's hair. "Don't feel too bad! Let my win against Kacchan cheer you up, 'kay?"

Kaminari went from annoyed about his hair being touched to amused. "Oh yeah, _that'll_ make my day!"

Sonic winked at him before sprinting away.

With a pep in his step, the hedgehog went through a couple twists and turns until he was a corner away from entering the tunnel. However, a couple of voices made him pause in his stride.

"What gave you the idea to do that?" an unfamiliar deep voice asked.

"Move." Sonic's ears twitched at Todoroki's weary tone. "I need to get looked at by the nurse."

"You're not going _anywhere_ until you tell me why you disgraced my power! You find _every way_ to avoid using it like it's some kind of _poison_." Sonic furrowed his brow at the spat words and crept up against the wall until he could peer around the corner. Peeking, he saw Roki standing in front of…Endeavor? The guy was talking to his _son_ like that?

He could tell from the man's words and tone that he was angry, and Todoroki's cold glare told Sonic that the feeling was mutual. "That's because it is. Now, move."

Sonic was starting to feel like this wasn't a normal family argument.

Endeavor growled lowly, crossing his arms. "You pathetic child. Your worth just skyrocketed after the stunt you pulled, and you still reject my power? Think about it, Shoto! With my flames, you _will_ defeat All Might and-"

"I don't care." Todoroki's monotone paired with his harsh gaze made Sonic think about who was in the wrong here. Endeavor _was_ being unnecessarily harsh, but Roki had been holding back-

His train of thought crashed when Todoroki went to step around his father. Endeavor roughly grabbed his burnt arm, dragging a pained hiss out of the boy's throat. " _Don't_ forget what I made you for, boy."

…Scratch what he was thinking earlier. Endeavor was _definitely_ in the wrong here, and ' _what I made you for?'_ That sounded all kinds of wrong and messed up. All he wanted was for Roki to beat All Might? Because the dad sure didn't care that much for his son's health and happiness.

And well, this answered the question to why Todoroki relied so much on his ice.

The dual-colored boy's glare increased in intensity, and Sonic figured it was time to step in. Planting a grin on his muzzle, the azure swiftly turned the corner like he'd been running and skidded to a stop in mock-surprise.

"Hey Roki – uh…" Sonic paused in a middle of a hand wave, staring at the pro hero's hold on the teen. He rose a brow. "Am I interruptin' something?"

Endeavor's expression soured at his appearance, and Todoroki's eyes marginally relaxed when they shifted towards the hedgehog.

The flaming human ripped his hand away from the arm, his frown deepening. "It's none of your business." Endeavor marched up to Sonic, towering over the hedgehog. Unbothered, Sonic peered up at the noticeably hotter flames and the – supposedly – intimidating disposition. "What you _need_ to know is that my son will destroy you." Endeavor glimpsed back at Todoroki, who was gently covering his burn. " _Without_ holding back."

He didn't give Sonic a chance to respond, walking past him and disappearing around the corner.

Sonic's act dropped once he left, glancing over at a tense Todoroki. The boy's expression was once again neutral – or as neutral it could be after that interaction. Sonic put a hand on his hip and said, "Give me the word, and I'll give your dad a _real_ good kick to the head for ya." The bigger they were, the harder they fell.

Surprise flashed on Roki's face for a split second before quickly melting into muted uncertainty. "How much did you hear?"

Sonic didn't hesitate in telling the truth. "The whole thing."

Todoroki exhaled harshly, closing his eyes for a brief moment. When they reopened, they demanded compliance. "Don't tell anyone."

The speedster tapped his foot on the ground in thought, eventually nodding. He did it even though he believed that this wasn't something that was supposed to be kept secret. "I won't. Promise."

Todoroki subtly nodded before shuffling forward, able to go to the nurse without any obstacles in his way.

When the boy passed by Sonic, the speedster couldn't help but to venture, "If you ever need to talk about it-"

"I don't."

Roki's tone was inarguable as he continued to walk away.

Sonic pursed his lips, not wanting to let the other leave on that bad note. "Well, before I heard you two talkin', I wanted to congratulate you for winnin' the match!" The heterochromatic teen stopped, turning his head so a blue eye peered back at him. Sonic threw him a thumbs up and a smile. "It got a little rough, but you pulled through! The power behind that water was _crazy!_ "

Roki stared at him for a moment before raising his right arm a bit. The burn sharply contrasted his pale skin. "I was hesitant in resorting to it, but…" He took another deep breath and met Sonic's gaze again. There's sincerity in his tone now, the words quiet. "Thank you."

That 'thank you' covered a lot of ground, Sonic mused. He didn't know if the other was talking about giving him the water idea, about congratulating him on his win, or about offering to kick Endeavor in the head. He had a good guess that it was all three.

Sonic nodded. "No problem." He then shooed the other away. "Now go get some healin' before it gets too bad!"

Todoroki nodded as well. "Right." The student padded out of sight, and Sonic hummed to himself as a couple thoughts entered his mind.

One, Shinso had been wrong about _everything_ , and Sonic was going to have try even harder to get that sorry.

And two, after seeing Endeavor's actions, the scar on Todoroki's face was now _very_ concerning.

"Now that the field is clear, let's introduce the other two semi-finalists!"

At the sound of Mic's voice, Sonic shook his head to clear it. He would think about all of that stuff later.

But first, he had a dandelion to defeat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, Sonic has officially met Endeavor, and he is not impressed. Also, water!Todoroki gets his debut! I imagine Todoroki spraying his angry cat of a dad every time he gets hissy, and it makes my day.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the tournament arc ends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy this super long chapter!

"Now that the field is clear, let's introduce the other two semi-finalists!"

Sonic grinned as he stood in the shade of the tunnel, rotating his shoulder in a stretch. His bandages pulled somewhat, but that was the last thing he was worried about as Present Mic spoke over the joyous crowd.

"First up, we have Bakugo!" Blue ears perked at the loud cheers. "We've come to learn that his explosive personality matches his quirk to a tee! We already know that this fight is going to be action-packed, folks! And against him is a complete speed demon that came out of _nowhere_ , Sonic!"

The cheers morphed into a deafening uproar. Sonic soaked it all in as he stepped out into the light, used to adoring crowds.

However, unlike his other fights, Sonic didn't observe the audience as he approached the concrete stage. Instead, he kept his eyes straight ahead. His expressive emeralds never left the molten scarlets belonging to Bakugo as they stepped into their designated spaces.

Sonic put a hand on his lip, his smirk widening at the dandelion's withering glare. Bakugo was the definition of tense. All of his muscles were taut, his mouth was pulled down in a vicious scowl, and his fingers were curled like claws at his sides.

"Hey, you might pull something if you keep standin' like that!" Sonic called to him, and he didn't think it was possible, but the blonde's glare increased in intensity. "Why don't you relax a bit, huh?"

"I'll relax when I kick you out of the way like the _shitty pebble_ you are!" Bakugo snarled, black smoke rising out of his palms.

Sonic tisked, shaking his head in disappointment. "That wasn't very nice, Kacchan." A growl rumbled from his adversary, but the hedgehog wasn't deterred. "Think of the kids watching!"

"Fighters!" Mic shouted down to them. "Are you ready to get this show on the road?"

Bakugo's response was guttural. "Hurry up and start the match so I can kill him!"

Mics' laughter was slightly strained. "That's an…interesting euphemism! Keep everything friendly down there, students!" Sonic wasn't sure if Bakugo knew what 'friendly' meant. "Alright then… _begin!_ "

When Mic called out that prompt, Sonic was expecting Bakugo to completely let loose and come at him with everything he had. But instead, the blonde stayed put where he stood, his gaze keen and unwavering.

Sonic rose a brow at the other, and Bakugo simply gritted his teeth, his eyes never drifting off of him.

"Uh…" Mic sounded confused. "I said begin?"

"We heard!" Sonic affirmed with mirth in his tone. He had a hunch about what Bakugo was doing. He was being cautious, which was understandable. "Dandy's just waiting for me to make the first move because he's scared, that's all."

Bakugo's cheeks flushed with anger, taking an intimidating step forward that only made Sonic's smirk widen. "Don't call me that, dammit! I'm not _scared_ of fucking _roadkill!_ "

"Yeah?" Sonic leisurely held his hands out. "I'm waiting!" Bakugo grinded his teeth together, and it seemed like staying still physically pained him, but he wasn't making a move.

Well, it looked like Sonic would have to take the initiative.

"You're just wastin' time, Kacchan." Sonic teased before rushing the other, his feet a blur. He was behind Bakugo before the teen even noticed that he had moved. "Because there's no point in being cautious if you can't react in time."

Sonic grinned up at Bakugo's shocked expression as he whipped his head backwards to focus on the speedy hedgehog. Before the blonde could even think to react, Sonic darted his leg out, and Kacchan's surprised yell was music to his ears.

Bakugo fell hard on his back, his feet being swept out from under him. Sonic loomed over the guy, snickering as the shock morphed into pure rage. "Not bad for roadkill, huh?"

Sonic had sped out of the blast radius in time to not get hit with a heated explosion. His carefree smile never left his muzzle as the smoke cleared, showing Bakugo standing back up. The gaze on him was purely murderous; he hoped the kids watching weren't being traumatized.

"Time for you to make a move, pal! But only if you're ready!" Sonic gestured at himself, enjoying the moment. "I can go again if you need more time, Dandy. Just let me know!"

Bakugo roared before firing up his explosions. He aimed his palms backwards and propelled himself forward like an uncontrollable rocket. Sonic slightly cocked his head at the incoming danger, inwardly chuckling. The observation he made earlier was spot on. Kacchan looked _exactly_ like a wet cat.

"I'm going to wipe that stupid smile of you damn _face!"_

Bakugo seemed so determined and confident in his ability that Sonic almost felt bad sidestepping the explosion the teen produced when close enough. Almost.

Sonic snickered as Kacchan faltered in the air. "Hah?!" His shout was equal parts enraged and confused. The blonde compensated for his miss by adjusting his hands so he wouldn't crash into the concrete ground. Bakugo pulled a U-turn in the air, gunning for Sonic again while baring his teeth like a wild tiger. "Stay still you _fucker!_ "

Sonic waggled his finger at him. "I can't make this too easy, now can I?" The only answer he received with a snarl as Bakugo approached him like a runaway train. Sonic sidestepped the thrown explosion again and spun around to nail the blonde right in his side with his heel.

He heard the gasp that Kacchan tried to suppress, the teen tumbling to the ground before ending in a kneeling position a little distance away. The kick wasn't hard enough to hurt the guy too much; he was only aiming at the other's pride for this fight.

Sonic could've been ended it, but a quick match wasn't gonna knock the dandelion off his high horse.

Bakugo was breathing heavier now, his venomous glare trying to make Sonic burst into flames.

"Got any other tricks up your sleeve, Dandy?" Sonic rose a curious brow, lips curling up in a lopsided grin. "Because I don't know if you've caught on, but what you've been doin' isn't exactly working."

"Don't you ever _shut up?_ " Bakugo hissed – somehow able to do it without separating his teeth – as he stood. Miniature blasts popped in his upturned hands, and Sonic learned that those were a great indication of his anger level.

Sonic scoffed. "Why do I get a feeling that a lot of people have asked _you_ that in the past?"

Kacchan remained silent as he shot forward on his feet time, bent low to the ground with black smoke spewing from his palms. Sonic didn't know what this would accomplish because Bakugo was _slower_ running, but he guessed that he's see soon enough.

Like every other attack, Bakugo didn't blast him until he was an arm's length away. Sonic hopped out of the way as his left side felt the heat of the explosion, but _unlike_ previous attempts, the hedgehog felt something cut his arm.

Sonic blinked down in confusion at the bleeding scratch he mysteriously obtained. How in the…?

" _Die!"_

The speedster's breath got caught in his throat at more popping, and he backflipped out of the way quick enough to avoid being blasted in the face. When he landed, something clattered at his feet. Sonic glanced down to see small chunks of concrete littered around him.

So…Bakugo was breaking the ground with his blasts? _That_ was what nicked his arm! Heh, Dandy was smarter than he looked!

Sonic grinned as he focused on the blonde. Bakugo was panting, halfway hidden in thick black smoke. "You managed to hit me, bud! Congrats! Not a lot of people can say that, y'know!"

Bakugo narrowed his eyes and barked out, "There's more where that came from, asshole!" before dashing to the side with an explosion aimed at the ground.

Sonic ducked most of the flying debris, the tiny grains grazing his cheeks. There was another blast to his right, and the hedgehog hopped over the chunks that could possibly knock someone out cold. Bakugo really wasn't pulling any punches, was he?

Blue ears twitched when another boom sounded behind him. Sonic whirled around and protected his face with his arms. The skin on them stung when they took the brunt of the rocks, but nothing was big enough to cause real damage.

Sonic had to keep his body moving as more and more debris was hurled in his direction, coming from all sides. Bakugo was apparently running circles around him; Sonic relied on his ears to hear the footsteps because there was nothing but thick black smoke everywhere.

Bakugo was blinding him. He actually listened to Sonic's advice to try something new. The speedster would clap if his arm wasn't busy shielding his mouth from the smoke, somewhat muffling his coughs.

Sonic looked as hard as he could through the smoke, but he wasn't getting anything other than opaque darkness. This would have been a pretty good strategy…if Bakugo was dealing with anyone _other_ than Sonic the hedgehog. The blue furred appendages on the top of his head weren't just for show.

So, Sonic closed his eyes and perked his ears, focusing. Kacchan wasn't running anymore, he could tell. The blonde was attempting to stay quiet, his footsteps barely audible against the concrete. But the sound was getting closer though, coming from his right. Getting closer and closer and – _there!_

The blue hedgehog leaned back just in time to see a pale arm enter his field of vision. Curled fingers were outstretched, ready to blast where Sonic _would've_ been. The hedgie glanced at Bakugo as surprise slowly settled in his expression, the boy tensing mid-stride.

Sonic smirked at him before taking the wrist in front of him and twisting it. It wasn't enough for the action to be painful, but enough so that the next explosion went off _right_ in Bakugo's gawking face.

" _Argh!_ " the teen shouted as he was thrown backwards, falling onto his back for the second time during this fight.

Tendrils of smoke surrounded the blonde, but Sonic was close enough to see the slightly charred hairs and the homicidal gaze clearly.

"Why are you hittin' yourself, Kacchan?" Sonic mocked, wiping the tiny beads of blood on his scratched-up arms. " _I'm_ the guy you're supposed to be attacking, yeah?"

The clenching of fists was the only warning he got. Luckily, that was all he needed to zoom in a random direction until he was out of the plume of smoke. He blinked against the bright sun before turning around and seeing a giant fireball light up the sky, the boom it created leaving his ears softly ringing.

Sonic barely had time to enjoy the pleasant heat before more blasts sounded off in the arena. He shifted his attention down from the dissipating fire to Bakugo rocketing towards him, flying like a bat out of hell.

Sonic was going to just sidestep the teen again, but one quick glance around told him that that was a bad idea. He had unintentionally run to the corner of the fighting stage, the white lines so close that any wrong move could cost him the match.

This wasn't a problem though. It was like the Cavalry Battle all over again!

Sonic bent his legs, and not a second later, those powerful muscles shot him upwards into the air.

Kacchan locked onto him immediately, his gravelly voice calling out, "Where do you think _you're_ going, Roadkill?!" The blonde changed his trajectory, propelling himself up to where Sonic was at his apex.

"Oh, I just wanted to get a good view of our adoring fans!" Sonic chirped, smiling down at the incoming human projectile. "What about you, Dandy?"

Bakugo only gave him a deep growl, holding out his right hand that was dangerously glowing yellow.

"Goin' to blow me up? Yeah, I kinda guessed that," Sonic said with a chuckle. Bakugo was growing closer, and there wasn't any way for the hedgehog to dodge the attack, really. More black smoke was rising from the hand, Kacchan was closing the distance, and Sonic didn't have a lot of options…except one, if he managed to pull it off.

Sonic watched Bakugo until he felt the heat of his palm by his calf. The hedgehog's lips twitched. Sonic's swung out his leg and kicked the offending arm, snapping it to the side.

"Dammit!" Bakugo snarled before hastily bringing up his other hand. However, he didn't have the time to let loose an explosion because he suddenly had a face-full of shoe.

Sonic snickered as he stepped on Bakugo's face and pushed off, gaining some extra height in the air. He performed a few flips – enjoying the angry sputtering of the teen behind him as he fell out of the sky – and twists before sticking his landing in the middle of the field.

Sonic gave a short smug bow and threw his voice up to the commentator box. "So judges, what's the score?"

Mic stared down at him, stunned and a bit perplexed, before registering the question and playing along. "A perfect score! Ten out of ten, I must say!" The audience agreed with him if their cheers were anything to go by. Mic then turned to Aizawa. "What about you, Mummy Man?"

Aizawa's eyes were on Sonic, and they didn't look as excited. "This isn't a gymnastics competition."

Mic laughed out loud before grinning at Sonic. "That translates to about an eight out of ten! Aizawa's kinda hard to impress."

Sonic could tell. "That's fine! It's _more_ than enough to win gold!" he exclaimed, tone light and jolly. The hedgehog turned around as Mic told Aizawa that Sonic was becoming one of his favorite students.

The speedster would have chuckled at that, but something else took priority.

And that something was Bakugo in a _tornado_ of smoke speeding in his direction.

" _Howlitzer Impact!"_

Then all Sonic knew was brightness, pressure, and _heat._ He felt himself being launched backwards from the force of the explosion, shock wave knocking the air out of his lungs. How was the blast this powerful?! Bakugo wasn't even that close to him!

However, he didn't have the time to think about that, because now he was sliding against the jagged concrete. Hoping to save himself _somehow_ , Sonic blindly reached out and scraped his fingers against the floor of the stage, feeling his nails being filed down.

Sonic inwardly gasped in pain when his digits caught onto something, abruptly stopping his unexpected tumble. He kept his head down and ears flattened against as the booming noise continued, pieces of concrete hitting him in his head and shoulders.

Heat was surrounding him, not enough to burn completely, but enough to be highly uncomfortable and making Sonic wonder exactly _how_ long Kacchan was going to keep this up.

Like the teen was reading his mind, the blast suddenly ended. Sonic released a relieved breath as he body fell flat against the ground, his legs no longer flapping behind him.

Sonic took a second to recollect himself, peeling his rigid fingers from the small crater formed by Bakugo's earlier debris attacks. The hedgehog exhaled deeply as he clenched and unclenched his fists, not wanting any cramps in his digits.

It didn't take long to realize that the crowd in the audience had gone quiet, and that another person was breathing way harder than he was.

Sonic picked up his head, taking in the destruction around. More concrete had been shattered, and there were scorch marks all over the place. Sonic blinked at the hole in the ground that had stopped his flight before glancing behind himself, seeing that he was clearly still in-bounds.

"No…No dammit _no!"_

The downed speedster whipped his head back forward and zeroed in on the kneeling teen in the middle of the field. Bakugo was worse for wear; his chest was heaving, his hands were subtly shaking, and he looked like he was going to collapse from exhaustion any second now.

Sonic managed a couple chuckles as he slowly but surely got back to his feet, testing if anything was broken or twisted. He seemed completely healthy aside from the bruises, scratches, light burns, and the dust he had unfortunately inhaled.

The hedgehog shook himself to get rid of any excess debris on him and to get his quills in some sort of order. "Heh…Now that's what I call havin' a blast!" Sonic quipped as he ambled over to the blonde. He was taking his time, because it seemed like Kacchan had reached his limit. That explosion really took a lot out of him.

Despite how tired and out of it he looked, Bakugo still had a scowl on his face, struggling and failing to get back to his feet. "You were supposed to be out of bounds, _dammit!_ "

"Sorry not sorry, bud!" Sonic said, approaching the other at a steady pace. "I'll give you an A for effort, though!"

"Stay the _fuck_ away from me!" Bakugo snarled like a cornered wild animal. It was obvious that Sonic wasn't going to listen, so the blonde held his hands up with his palms out.

Sonic was more than ready this time to avoid another blast, but pained grunts made him pause in his stride. The hedgie's brow furrowed at the agony present in Bakugo's expression and at the _visible_ veins popping out on the guy's wrists. He was seriously straining himself.

The speedster eyed the other as he struggled to get his next attack out. Coming to a decision, Sonic zipped over to the student, maneuvered around him, and wrenched those pale arms painlessly behind his back.

"Let _go of me!"_ Bakugo struggled after shaking off the surprise, but he was weak and it was all for naught.

"Nope!" Sonic opposed, tightening his grip. "I'm the only one keepin' ya from falling over!" Sonic tisked as Kacchan kept fighting him. "I think you should listen to your body, pal, especially when it's tellin' you it's done."

Bakugo glared at him out the corner of his weary eye. "I'm _not_ done! I'm not letting the likes of _you_ win! I have to…" The blonde faced forward, clenching his jaw. "I have to, so get _off_ me, Roadkill! Let me _kill you!_ "

"There's a lot of other phrases you could use instead of that, you know…" Sonic told him, not sure if hearing that from a future hero would go over well with others. "And didn't I say no? Great heroes recognize when they've been beaten!"

"I haven't lost!" Bakugo was flailing as he much as he could, but he wasn't getting anywhere. "Fuck you! Coming here last minute and calling the shots! You _don't_ know me! It's not over until _I_ say it's over, bastard!" His voice was growing breathier, and Sonic figured that he was going to be handling dead weight in a moment.

"Yeah I can't, but Midnight can!" Sonic winked down at the suddenly stiff boy he was restraining. He then locked eyes with the woman on the sidelines. "Isn't the fight over when someone can't move?" He bobbed his head down at Bakugo. "I don't think he's going anywhere any time soon!"

Midnight's eyes drifted over to the ashy blonde. "Bakugo, can you move?"

Kacchan wasn't struggling anymore, slumped over as far as Sonic allowed him. His hair was overshadowing his eyes. He wasn't answering the woman, instead repeating, "Dammit, dammit, dammit…" harshly under his raspy breath.

Sonic frowned up a bit. Sure, he expected Bakugo to be mad after losing, but this was a little extreme.

Midnight stared for another moment before raising her whip in the air. "Bakugo is immobilized! Sonic moves on to the final round!" There was a burst of applause, whistles, and shouts from the audience. Sonic smiled at them until:

"Let go."

Bakugo's voice caught his attention, more specifically how broken it sounded. Yeah, there was anger and rage present, but Sonic heard something underneath that normally wasn't there. At least, for as long as he'd known the blonde.

Now that the fight was over, Sonic wasn't going to keep him hostage for any longer. He released the dusty dandelion, and Kacchan leaned forward until he was leaning on his arms.

Sonic stood to the side and held out a hand. "Do you need any-"

He swallowed the rest of his words when his hand was slapped away. Slightly unfocused scarlets were glaring at him, and Sonic couldn't help to think that they were…glossier than normal. "Fuck off!" Bakugo snapped before using his spent muscles to stand up by himself.

Sonic held his hands up innocently. "No one likes a sore loser, bud!" He watched as the blonde stumbled to his feet. The hedgehog was waiting for any signs of the other falling back down. "At least you got to show off, yeah? I could've ended it _way_ before that impressive blast!"

Bakugo stiffened at that, but he didn't spare Sonic another look as he began to stagger in the direction of the exit tunnel. However, Kacchan barely managed to take three steps before his knees buckled.

Sonic was there to catch him, preventing an uncomfortable reunion with the ground. Bakugo was slumped against his back, unconscious. The hedgehog supported the extra weight well enough and waved off the small robots with a gurney heading his way. "It's fine! I got him!"

The speedster positioned Bakugo's arms over his shoulders and then got a hold of the student's legs, shifting him into a piggy-back position. Kacchan's heels were almost touching the ground because Sonic was so short, but luckily the teen wasn't done with puberty yet.

Sonic dashed into the building, keeping a steady grip on the teen he was carrying. He arrived at the nurse's office in no time, more than familiar with the path now that he's visited on so many occasions.

The speedster easily pushed open the door, and Recovery Girl was seemingly ready for him. Two beds were already prepped. Midoriya was nowhere to be found, so he must've recovered quickly enough from his fight with Todoroki to watch in the stands.

RG patted the bed closest to her. "You can lay him here, dear." Sonic nodded before doing so, eventually getting Bakugo to rest on the mattress with the lady's help.

"He's just exhausted," the nurse told him once the blonde was settled. "He should be up and walking by the time medals are given out."

Sonic figured that it was nothing serious. "That's good to hear! And I'm sure that he'd be happy too." If Bakugo would ever feel that emotion.

Recovery Girl hummed to herself before changing the subject. "That was an interesting fight you had out there."

Sonic snickered, wiping some charred fur off his body, causing his cuts to sting. "You're tellin' me! That final explosion caught me by surprise! If Bakugo hadn't been targeting the ground beforehand, I might've actually lost!"

The old woman fluffed up the blonde's pillow a bit. "I'm sure everyone thought you had. The fire blocked out half the field, and it had been safe to say that no one could've endured his attack." She rose a brow at him, leaning slightly on her cane. "You're quite resilient, aren't you?"

"Well…" Sonic grinned, rubbing the back of his neck with a grin. "Let's just say that I've been through some tough stuff in the past!"

RG just nodded, gazing at Bakugo for a moment before shuffling away. "Alright, come to the other bed so I heal you up."

Sonic shifted his weight toward the door. "There's no need! I've got nothing major going on, and I need to get ready for the final match!"

"You can't see yourself, little one." The lady argued, eyeing his condition. "You have burns, scrapes, and bruises all over you. You need to be in prime condition for your next fight." Sonic opened his mouth, but she kept going. "Also, I doubt you would be late to the next match because they're fixing the stage, and even if you were late, no one would care because it's you versus Endeavor's boy. This has been the most interesting first year tournament in years."

RG made some really good points; however, he seriously didn't need it. He'd fought in worse conditions – a particular werehog transformation coming to mind. "But-"

"Don't sass me, young man."

"Yes ma'am."

* * *

Sonic couldn't help but to feel like a mummy standing on his side of the field. Both of his arms were wrapped up in bandages, and his legs were patched up as well. He vaguely wondered if this was how Aizawa felt times one hundred.

"Sonic."

Blue ears perked at the sound of his name over Present Mic hyping up the audience around them. Sonic rose his gaze from his arms and tilted his head at Todoroki, who was staring him down. He was expressionless as always.

"Yeah?" Sonic responded with a smirk, the crowd cheering in response to whatever Mic said.

Todoroki didn't seem to notice the loud voices. "You held back when fighting Bakugo."

His worlds barely sounded like a question, more like a stated fact, but Sonic answered anyway. "Eh…" The hedgehog shrugged ambiguously. "Maybe a bit!"

"Don't to that with me." It was a borderline command, Todoroki's eyes subtly narrowing. "Give me your all."

Sonic blinked before widening his smirk. If he wanted it so bad, then sure. Sonic wasn't going to argue. "Alright! But remember, it was your idea, not mine."

"I wouldn't want it any other way." Todoroki glanced off to the side, and Sonic followed his gaze. Endeavor was standing with his arms crossed in the stands, his frown serious and uninviting. Once he realized that the fighters were looking at him, his expression darkened, and he glared hard at Sonic.

Father of the year, everyone.

Sonic threw him a bright smile that obviously wasn't welcomed as Todoroki continued, "There wouldn't be a point in fighting if you went easy." The heterochromatic boy returned his attention to Sonic, and the hedgehog nodded.

"I hear ya loud and clear!" Sonic mock-saluted him. "You just better get ready, Roki!"

"On your marks, fighters!" Mic's voice cut into their conversation, making them slide into battle-ready stances. "Get set… _go!_ "

Sonic was planning on keeping his word, but he wanted to see what Todoroki did first. He hesitated in sprinting for a second, and he instantly learned that was a bad idea when a thin layer of ice quickly spread across the entire concrete stage.

Emerald eyes widened as they darted all around at the crystalline ground before locking gazes with Todoroki. Sonic might have been imagining it, but the boy seemed infinitesimally more confident than before.

If Sonic had been any more inexperienced, he'd actually be worried because there was no way he could utilize his speed on foot without careening out of bounds.

However…

"You're usin' your brain, Roki! I like that!" Sonic grinned over at the teen, who blinked in slight surprise. He probably expected Sonic to be more distraught than he currently was. "But it's too bad for you that I have a couple tricks up my sleeve!"

Todoroki didn't answer him. Instead, his foot twitched and jagged ice pillars launched themselves in Sonic's direction.

The blue speedster scoffed at the attack before jumping and spinning rapidly in the air. Sonic bristled his quills so they were sharp and – most importantly – able to gain traction on the slick ice.

The moment Sonic touched back down, he shot forward like a bullet. He avoided Todoroki's attack with ease, his quills screeching along the ice as he curved around. Sonic inwardly chuckled at the flash of panic on Roki's face as he rushed the boy. It _would_ be terrifying for a ball of sharp spines to be heading right for you.

Todoroki clenched his jaw before swinging his right arm in an arc, a thick wall of ice following the motion.

Sonic didn't decrease his speed, whizzing right for the unsuspecting teen. At the last possible second, the hedgehog jumped up and cut through the crystalline barrier like a crazed buzz saw. Sonic slipped through the shattering ice in no time. The shock on Roki's face forced a laugh to bubble out of his throat.

The hedgehog uncurled mid-air with a toothy smile. "Nice try!" He shot his hands out and gripped Roki's left arm. Using his momentum, Sonic yanked the boy off his feet, spun around, and hurled Roki in the direction of the white line.

Sonic landed on the ground and fought to stay upright on the slippery ice. He watched as Todoroki righted himself in the air before producing crystals in the shape of a wave to catch him. Sonic whistled lowly, impressed, as Roki basically surfed away from the perimeter.

The speedster gazed on until the wave died down, disposing Roki near the center of the stage. The boy landed gracefully, somehow not affected by the lack of friction.

Todoroki huffed, misty breath escaping his mouth. "Those quills of yours are a problem."

Sonic chuckled. "Yeah, I know right?" He sent a smug grin before rolling up and speeding for the boy again. Sonic skidded to the side when another ice attack rushed toward him. The hedgehog for a second wondered why Roki wasn't using his water, but then he realized that Todoroki wasn't exactly in the best condition after doing it during his fight with Deku. It probably took a lot out of-

Sonic was thrown out of his musings when a sizeable ramp formed right in front of Todoroki. He _had_ been curious to why the boy hadn't tried to hop out of his rolling path.

He was far too close to avoid the raised ice, so in order to not soar out of bounds, Sonic uncurled himself and laid flat – feeling a cold shock against his chest and stomach – as he slid swiftly up the ramp. He was airborne now, soaring over Todoroki's head.

Sonic spread eagled as wind whipped across his face, hoping the air resistance would keep him from flying past the perimeter like he would've done if he was still a ball.

He then whipped his head back at the sound of crackling ice. There were pillars heading his way, and they were surely going to hit him right in his back if Sonic didn't hit the ground _right now._

Stuck between cold rock and an invisible hard place, Sonic took a risk and curled back up into a ball. He dropped like a rock a mere _inch_ away from the white line before careening to the right, the thrusting ice missing him by a hair.

Alright, so it was safe to say that charging Roki head on wasn't the best option anymore.

It was great then that he had the whole stage at his disposal.

The beginnings of a plan forming in his mind, Sonic shot forward while dodging crystals until he was close enough to Todoroki to start circling around him. Roki's eyes were keen and cautious as he stood in the middle, most likely waiting for Sonic to make an actual move.

Sonic simply kept going around him though, circling around and around, creating deeper and wider tracks in the ice.

Roki seemed to grow impatient, for he threw ice in Sonic's path only for it to be sawed right though like a knife through butter. The teen then tried again to catch the speedster in another ramp trap, but Sonic was falling for that again. He jumped up and crashed down on the ice, shattering it to pieces and spinning away like nothing happened.

Todoroki was growing frustrated, Sonic could tell. The student couldn't escape from the circle without the possibility of getting hit, and the speedster saw that the other was beginning to shiver, frost slowly forming on his right side.

The heterochromatic boy attempted two more attacks that Sonic just crashed through, and the speedster believed that was the final straw. How did he know?

Well, Roki was putting his left hand on top of his right outstretched arm, so that could only mean one thing.

That it was time for Sonic to kick this up a notch.

He waited until there was a strained grimace on the boy's face and until the skin on the right arm had a slight red tint to it. Todoroki was committing to conjuring the water, so Sonic didn't have to worry about anymore ice.

The hedgehog instantly uncurled and cranked his speed up ten-fold as water burst from Todoroki's palm like a dam had broken. Roki audibly hissed in pain when the torrent gushed out. Sonic glanced at him as he kept his steps in line with the track he created, his feet blurring as wind picked up exponentially.

Sonic had zoomed around Roki at least ten times before the water reached the perimeter of the circle. However, instead of cutting Sonic's path off, trapping him, and pushing the speedster out off the stage like the attack was supposed to, the water was caught up in the gales Sonic was stirring.

As more and more water pumped out, it swirled upwards towards the sky, creating a spontaneous water spout. Todoroki breathed harshly as his hair whipped back and forth, the volume of liquid coming out of his palm lessening until both arms were limp at his sides.

It was only then when Sonic pumped the brakes and approached Roki's side with a small smile. They were both in the middle of the swirling water, gazing skyward as the water scattered the sun's rays. A second or two passed before gravity retook control, glinting droplets falling back down.

Sonic enjoyed the light rain; it was almost like a refresher after a long day. He eyed Todoroki. The boy was still staring as the wind started to dissipate, more droplets dampening their clothes. Call Sonic crazy, but it almost seemed like Roki was enjoying it too.

Puddles were forming all around, the warmer water melting the ice present. Sonic's quills grew heavier, and Todoroki's hair stuck to his forehead as the last of the rain fell from the sky.

Sonic pleasantly sighed as the crowd lost their minds. He ignored them, instead opting to nudge his opponent. "Hey." Todoroki blinked before lowering his eyes onto him, questioning and tired and a whole lot of other things. The boy was breathing deeply, looking spent even though the frost was gone from his body. Sonic was right earlier; bringing out the water itself had to take a lot of effort.

The hedgehog grinned up at the other. "Want to call it a day? Or do you still have some fight left in ya?"

Todoroki's gaze flickered down to the bright red handprint on his right arm, lifting the limb slightly. His expression was conflicted until miniature ice pillars crawled away from Roki's foot, aiming for Sonic.

The speedster simply took a small step forward, and the power behind the crystals died out. Todoroki exhaled deeply, all fight draining out of his system. He was obviously disappointed by this turn of events, but he wasn't as affected as Bakugo was.

"I'm done," Roki uttered, raking his fingers through his now stringy hair. His tone was subdued yet accepting. "You won."

Midnight raised her whip and declared Sonic the winner of the tournament, causing an enthusiastic uproar.

Sonic smiled, patting the teen cordially on his back. "You did amazing, Roki! Like seriously, that whole ramp thing had me worried for a sec!"

Todoroki didn't look at him. He was slowly curling the fingers on his right hand. "It was nothing compared to what you did." He then pinched his brow together in frustration. "I was too hasty in resorting to the water. I knew it would drain me and yet-"

Sonic scoffed as he bobbed his head in Endeavor's general direction, not wanting the other to get too down. "Well, if it makes you feel any better, you would've lost in a worst way just relyin' on ice, and fire wouldn't have helped either. The water spout was a cool bonus too." Sonic snickered. "Also, I think we might've soaked your old man."

They both glimpsed Endeavor's way, and his palpable anger almost distracted them from the fact that all of his fire was put out.

Todoroki's brow smoothened out. "…It does make me feel better." He then turned in the direction of the exit tunnel, his expression remained more relaxed than normal. "Let's go so they can place us on podiums."

"You don't need to go to Mrs. RG?" Sonic asked, a little concerned. Todoroki seemed a bit more put together than Bakugo did, but sill. He had that nasty burn.

Todoroki carefully rubbed the sensitive area. "It'll heal on its own."

Sonic rolled his eyes. "Yeah right. I'll give ya two options." He held up a finger. "One, we stroll on over to the nurse's office." He rose another. "Or two, I carry you the whole way there. Which one will it be?"

Roki sighed before walking ahead of him, and Sonic met his stride with a satisfied smile on his face as they left the field.

"Oh, and my offer to kick Endeavor still stands, y'know. Anytime, anywhere."

"…I'll keep that in mind."

* * *

"The first year students have completed all the events of the U.A. Sports Festival!" Midnight announced. "Now it's time to relax and enjoy the awards ceremony!"

Sonic would love to do that…but he was too busy worrying about Midoriya's safety.

After Todoroki got patched up by RG – she was more than happy to replace Sonic's soggy bandages as well, telling them that Bakugo had walked out right before their arrival when asked – the heterochromatic boy led him down to a room beneath the stadium.

The space was artificially lit because of the lack of windows, and there were a few people standing around. Adults – who Sonic guessed were teachers – were standing around, and there was a mop of green hair that anyone could recognize.

Deku – with bandages wrapped around his head and fingers – had brightly greeted them upon sight, congratulating the duo on first and second place and gushing about their quirks. Sonic had returned the sentiment, happy that Midoriya had made it as far as he had in the tournament and calling out that his quirk was amazing too. Todoroki had stayed silent, but he didn't seem bothered about their discussion.

After swapping those words, the teachers guided the trio to their designated podiums that were apparently going to rise up into the arena. Sonic was positioned in the middle for first with Roki on his right for second and Deku on his left for third.

Everything had been fine and jolly until Sonic noticed that someone was missing.

"Where's Bakugo?" he had asked because technically the blonde won third place too, and that directly led up to said boy being dragged in tied to a thick plank of wood with his hands restrained in metal casings, a muzzle muffling his rage-filled shouts.

Presently, Sonic was subtly frowning as Kacchan writhed in his restraints, having been situated on the third place podium. Midoriya wasn't on the pillar anymore, for Bakugo growled and lashed out every time Deku attempted to get close.

Todoroki was unamused as he waited impatiently on the podium. "He won't be able to hurt you."

Deku swallowed audibly, stuttering out, "Kacchan's…pretty tenacious when he wants to be." Sonic was sure that Bakugo couldn't break out of those restraints with his strength, but he wouldn't be surprised of the power of his raging anger alone melted him out of there.

Everyone's heads snapped up when the ceiling opened up over them, cheers along with fireworks filling the air.

"You better get on quick, Deku!" Sonic advised as he eyed the antagonistic blonde. "Just uh…stand as far away from him as you can." Midoriya released a shaky breath and stepped on the pillar. Bakugo snarled at him like the simple action had disrespected all of his ancestors, but Deku steeled himself and remained on the platform. He still looked moderately terrified though.

Sonic didn't know why Kacchan was so mad at Midoriya; the guy hadn't done anything wrong! Sonic put a hand on his hip, sending Bakugo a pointed look. "Would it hurt you to be a good sport for _once_ , Dandy?"

Bakugo was glaring at him now like a feral beast.

Sonic took that as a yes.

No more words were spoken – only Bakugo's growls grew deeper – as the four were raised out of the room and into the open. The roar of the crowd increased exponentially as they were revealed to the public. Well, that was until all the focus was on the blonde who was visibly vibrating with hatred.

All of the students who had participated in the festival were on the field, throwing Bakugo cautious and disappointing looks – the latter coming from a few in Class 1-A.

Sonic rolled his eyes. "Don't pay attention to him! He's cranky and just needs a nap." That caused laughter among the students and audience, making Bakugo snarl and Sonic snicker. Emerald eyes roamed the students until they found tired purples. Shinso had an amused smirk on his face, and when he noticed Sonic, he gave a subtle nod.

Sonic responded with a thumbs up because he always kept his promises.

"Now let's break out the hardware!" Midnight shouted enthusiastically. "Of course there's only one person worth of distributing the awards!"

Booming laughter filled the arena, and Sonic glanced up to see All Might in his buff form standing on top of the stadium. The crowd applauded loudly at his presence.

"Citizens!" The tall blonde jumped down from his perch. "I-"

"All Might the number one hero!"

Said man performed a superhero landing in front of the top four, quiet now because Midnight had talked over his grand entrance. The woman was suddenly guilty. "I ruined that, didn't I?"

All Might gave her a look that said, "You think?" before shaking the lackluster entrance off and standing up.

"So now that you're here, All Might…" Midnight presented the four medals to the tall blonde man. "Why don't you start the presentation?"

The hero happily took the awards. All Might's smile was wide as he approached Deku, and the green-haired boy straightened up at his presence.

"Young Midoriya!" All Might exclaimed as he positioned the medal around the teen's neck. A heavy hand clasped Deku's shoulder, and…there go the waterworks. Tears streamed down Midoriya's face, All Might barking out a laugh. "There's no need to cry, my boy! You did a great job fighting out there. You gave your all! I know that your fingers aren't happy, but you should be!"

Midoriya nodded, wiping away the moisture and sniffling. "I-I just had _so_ many doubts about making it this far a-and…"

The burly man pulled him in for a hug, patting him on the back. "Well, doubt no more! Your power is remarkable! You just have to work on controlling how much you get hurt in the future!"

He ended the hug, Midoriya nodding again as he fought to control his emotions.

All Might then turned to Bakugo, whose growls made the heroic man pause. "Oh my…uh." He took a step forward, reaching out to undo the muzzle. "Isn't this a bit too much?" Eventually, the metal clattered to the ground.

"All might…" Kacchan's voice was a venomous hiss, his glare sharp. "Don't you _dare_ but that damn thing around my neck!"

The buff hero looked confused, but his smile didn't waver. "Why not, young Bakugo? It's a trophy for showing your worth and making it this far in-"

"It's nothing but _stupid trash!_ " Bakugo angrily barked out, rattling the chains attached to his hands. "It's nothing but a reminder that I'm on the same level as _shitty Deku!_ " Sonic frowned up at how Midoriya flinched at that, not understanding where this hostility was coming from. "I was supposed to _win_ this damn thing!" Kacchan continued, veins popping in his neck. "So give me the first place medal, _or nothing at all!"_

All Might's smile waned a bit. "No, young Bakugo, you're wrong." He raised the medal, getting it closer to the blonde. "Every medal here holds significance! It-" The man cut himself off when Bakugo bit down on the lanyard and ripped the prize out of his grip. With a whip of his head, Bakugo sent the medal flying to the side without a second thought.

"Keep. It. Away. From. Me." Every syllable was snarled with bared teeth.

Now he had pushed it too far. Sonic chose to intervene. "C'mon Kacchan-"

" _Shut up!"_ Bakugo rounded on him, his voice growing louder. "This is all you're damn fault! If you hadn't shown up, _I'd_ be the winner of this stupid tournament!" He lunged out, but didn't get anywhere, bound to the wood. "So fuck you and everything you stand for! I'll beat your ass if it's the last thing I ever do! And – _mmff!_ "

All Might repositioned the muzzle over Bakugo's mouth, his smile straining at this point. "Let's just put this back on for the time being!" Kacchan glared at him, and the man put his hands on his hips. "Because everything you've said was uncalled for, young man. It doesn't matter what position you end up in, _every_ student in this festival pushed themselves and worked hard. So don't throw away your medal like it means nothing."

All Might regathered the prize and managed to place it around Bakugo's neck. The blonde was glowering down at the ground now, muscles tense.

"You need to change your attitude on life, because the one you have now will not get you far."

Sonic mentally applauded the man as he approached Todoroki. Those were deep words, but whether or not Bakugo would heed them was a question Sonic couldn't answer. Hopefully he did though, it would make everybody's lives easier.

All of the seriousness within All Might was replaced with mirth. "Ah, young Todoroki! Most of us knew that you were an amazing fighter with your unique quirk, but then you surprised us all with your water! It's a great day when a student gets a step closer to mastering their quirk!"

Roki nodded, expression soft. "It is."

All Might hugged him as well for a moment before pulling back, hands on the boy's shoulders. "But as a reminder, you can't master something without utilizing it to its full potential!"

Todoroki didn't respond verbally at first, for the man was obviously referring to his fire side. The boy gently cradled the bandages covering his burn, dipping his head once more and eventually muttering, "Right."

All Might eyed him for a moment before nodding. That seemingly was enough for him.

Sonic grinned as he looked up to the taller man. All Might still had a good couple of inches on him even those _he_ was the one on the raised podium.

The buffy hero laughed, it loud and boisterous. "Young Sonic! Congratulations on winning the sports festival! It takes lots of skill to be standing where you are now!"

"Thank you, thank you!" Sonic shallowly bowed like he was at a curtain call. "But hey, I wouldn't have gotten here if you hadn't recommended me!" Sonic exclaimed, flowing into the act that was already established. He held up a fist. "I appreciate the opportunity!"

All Might didn't hesitate and fist bumping him. "Anything to improve the next generation of amazing heroes! Here's your medal!" He placed the cord around Sonic's neck, and the hedgehog held up the award, seeing it glint in the sun. "You've earned it!"

The bulky dude then turned around to face the other students. "Here they are, the winners of this year's sports festival!" There were cheers all around while Sonic snuck a glance at his neighbors.

Deku was purely happy soaking this experience in, Roki was examining his silver medal, brows slightly scrunched together in thought, and Kacchan wasn't growling anymore. Well, it was more like a low rumble, but Sonic wouldn't exactly call that a growl. That was progress…maybe?

After All Might closed out the ceremony somewhat awkwardly with a miscommunication between him and the audience, Sonic along with Todoroki and Midoriya hopped down from their podiums. All Might was busy freeing Bakugo from his restraints.

The first person that rushed over to Sonic was Kaminari. "Oh my _god,_ man!" The dark blonde nearly bursting with energy, his eyes huge along with his grin. "Your quirk is absolutely _crazy!_ I mean, I knew that you were fast, but creating a _tornado_ fast?!"

"Or turning to an _insane_ buzz saw fast!" Kirishima bounded up next to the electric boy, beaming. "Dude, we _have_ to go sparing sooner or later!"

Sonic winked at him. "You bet! I've been wanting to as soon as I saw your quirk!"

Kaminari playfully pushed the red-head away. "Hey! No stealing my favorite person! Find your own!"

"You can't just call him like that! S'not fair!"

"Life's not fair, my man!"

"I'm _so_ sorry for them." Sonic blinked over at Ashido who had stepped up to his side, shaking her head at the duo teasing each other back in forth. However, it wasn't long before she was sparkly eyed like Kaminari had been. "But back to _you!_ Like, just…just _wow!_ All Might said that any of us could've been first, but I don't even _compare_ to you!"

Sonic chuckled at her; yeah, there was _definitely_ some Amy in her. "Sure you do! Your quirk is acid, right? I get hit with that stuff once, and I'm done for!"

"Yeah, but that's the thing! I would have to _hit_ you! That's nearly impossible!"

Before Sonic could tactfully deflect the truth of that statement, Ashido looked to the right and pointed out Bakugo being free. She, Kaminari, and Kirishima ran over to the still fuming blonde because for some reason, the threat of being blown up – or bitten – hadn't crossed their minds.

Sonic scanned the rest of his classmates, seeing Todoroki and Midoriya being congratulated by the remainder of the class. Though, after taking one more look around, Sonic noticed that one tall, blue-haired teen was missing.

Pursing his lips in thought, Sonic walked over to Deku, who was in the middle of a conversation with Uraraka and Asui. When he was noticed though, Midoriya paused in what he was saying and turned towards him.

Sonic waved to the girls before cutting to the chase. "Hey uh…Where's Iida? Is he in the bathroom or somethin'?"

Midoriya and Uraraka shared a tense look, and Sonic had a good hunch that no, Iida wasn't in the bathroom.

"He's…" the brunette spoke up, her gaze slightly sadder. "He had to go because of a family emergency."

Sonic blinked in surprise because furrowing his brow, concern setting in. A family emergency so bad that he had to leave? He had heard Iida talking on the phone with his mom earlier, and he was trying to get a hold of his brother…

"Oh, well okay…" Sonic pushed any negative thoughts away before they had a chance to form. "I hope it's nothing too serious!"

Before Sonic could gauge their reactions to that, another voice grabbed all of their attentions. "Class." Sonic whirled around to see Aizawa enter their little congregation. His eyes roamed around to see if everyone who were his students was listening. "Go change back into your regular clothes and head for the classroom. I'll meet you there shortly."

There were confirmations all around before the group began to drift toward the exit of the arena. Sonic was going to follow – despite having no clothes to change into – until Aizawa called his name.

The speedster paused in his stride and rose a brow at the mummy man. "Yeah, teach?" Some students stopped as well to be nosey, but one look from the teacher sent them scurrying.

Aizawa turned his back on him, strolling towards a different exit. "Follow me," he drawled.

"Uh, sure!" Sonic really didn't have any other option. He caught up to the guy fast enough, peering up at him curiously. "Where we goin'?"

Aizawa's gaze hadn't left all of the other students filtering out of the arena as well. "To fetch you some clothes," he uttered lowly. "Principal Nezu had ordered another outfit for you until you could get some on your own."

"Oh!" Sonic perked up at that. Despite not needing clothes and preferring to go without them, it was a pleasant surprise. "That was nice of him!"

Aizawa hummed as they entered the building, turning corners Sonic never had before. He stayed slightly behind the teacher, blindly following.

He didn't try to start up a conversation because he'd learned that Aizawa was the type of guy who preferred quiet, and well, he was too busy reliving the memories of the festival: the obstacle course, the Cavalry battle, the fights… _oh_ the fights. He never would've believed that humans were capable of-

"By the way, you'll be living with me."

Sonic slammed on the brakes as his train of thought derailed and threw itself off the side of a cliff. He stared at the back of Aizawa's head as the teacher kept walking. There was _no_ way that he had heard that right. "Um…can ya repeat that for me?"

There was an exasperated sigh as Aizawa slowed to a stop as well. He slightly turned to face the hedgehog, eyes tired. "You heard what I said."

"Y…You're _serious?_ " Sonic hadn't thought about his housing arrangement until now. Heck, he didn't really _need_ a house, just the stars over him and some cover it case it rained. Years of adventuring taught him to make due with what he had. Though, he figured that leaving a kid basically on the street was a no-go here. "Why you?! I mean, no offense, but why can't I just stay with…I dunno…one of my classmates?"

Aizawa resumed walking, and Sonic hesitantly trailed after him. "Because of your situation, all of those who know about it thinks it's best that you stay with me so I can keep an eye on you."

"Keep an eye on me?" Sonic sped up to the other's side, extremely befuddled. "But I haven't done anything wrong! I just got here!" He hadn't had _nearly_ enough time to cause mischief yet.

"It's not all about you," Aizawa said, though something in his level stare told Sonic it was the complete opposite. "It's about villains. What you can do had been broadcasted everywhere. We don't want them targeting you."

Sonic jabbed a thumb over his shoulder. "You saw what I did out there! I'm more than capable of handling myself, thank you very much!" It was one thing to be forced to go to school, but to be forced to be roommates with your stick-in-the-mud _teacher?_ That crossed the line.

"Your abilities are the main reason we're doing this," Aizawa muttered under his breath.

Sonic heard it anyway. Something was off here. "What-"

"No more questions," Aizawa dryly commanded, seemingly done with this conversation.

Sonic wasn't though. "You guys can't just-"

"Do you want a zero on every test from here on out?"

Okay, maybe he was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And thus, Aizawa adopts a hedgehog. Wild, huh?


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Aizawa and Sonic totally get along (insert sarcasm here)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so glad you all enjoyed the tournament arc finale! Those fights were my favorite to write!

Sonic sighed out in relief when he located Class 1-A's classroom door. Aizawa had given him very lax directions to the place from the principal's office, and with a school this big, Sonic thought he was going to get lost for sure.

Thankfully he hadn't, and well, it was kinda hard to miss the _giant_ door with a massive 1-A written on it. The door was slightly ajar, and he heard familiar voices coming from within.

Sonic approached the opening, feeling his pant legs rub against each other. He frowned a bit as he glanced down at his unfortunate clothing situation.

When Aizawa mentioned Nezu getting Sonic an 'outfit', he totally left out the fact that it was a _uniform_ that was mandatory to wear around school. The principal was so nice to order everything he needed: a collared shirt, a coat, a tie, and pants that were _way_ too constricting for Sonic's liking.

The hedgehog had made it a little more bearable by unbuttoning the coat and loosening the tie until it was more like a scarf. He was sure it was against the rules, but did people not feel like they're _choking_ with those on? It had to be some kind of hazard.

Mentally pushing his complaints aside, Sonic creaked open the door, and a multitude of heads whirled in his direction. The students were tense for a split second before relaxing. They probably thought he was Aizawa or something.

The teens were bunched up in different groups, spread out around the classroom. Sonic scanned the area, taking in the desks, the chalkboard, and the overall 'school' aura. If someone had told him a week ago that he was going to enroll in a school in another dimension, he would've escorted that person to the nearest psychiatrist.

"Oh, hey man!" Kaminari was the first to greet him, waving a hand in greeting. He was sitting in a desk with Kirishima and Sero by him. "Where have you been? What did Aizawa want?"

"Nothin' much," Sonic responded ambiguously as he sat on the desk in front of the blond. Sero, who was standing to the side, faced him in curiously, and Kirishima leaned forward in his seat behind Kaminari. One glance around the room showed that nearly everyone was listening. "Except teach told me that I gotta stay with him while I go here."

As expected, he was met with confused looks. "Wait, what?" Kaminari rose an eyebrow. "You have to _stay_ with Aizawa? What for?"

Sonic leaned back on his hands, recalling what the principal had told him to say. "Well, I've got no other place to go! I'm a foreign exchange student from the States." He still had no clue where those were, but he guessed that he really didn't have to know.

"Whoa!" Kirishima's mouth was agape, showing off his shark teeth. "Seriously? _That's_ why you seem to come out of the blue! Because you actually did!"

"And to have All Might find you…? You must've been really big over there!" Sero grinned.

Sonic waved him off. "Nah, I was just really lucky!"

"Well, not anymore!" Kaminari sent him a sympathetic look. "You're gonna live with _Aizawa._ You know how stressed out you're going to be? Man, and your _social life-_ " The blonde seemed to get an idea, holding out a hand. "Give me your phone."

"Uh…" Sonic dug into his pants pocket and pulled out the phone that was only was supposed to be used for emergencies. Aizawa had already put in his number. "Why?"

Kaminari grabbed the device with a smirk, his fingers going to town. "So I can save you from rotting alone in his house, or from drowning in homework he'll expect you to do."

Sonic stifled a chuckle when Kirishima took the phone after Kaminari was done. His freedom had been stripped somewhat, so this was one way he was making up for it.

"Dude, I feel _really_ bad for you," the red-head uttered, refocusing on the hedgie after handing Sero the phone. "You've met Aizawa, but you don't know what he's _like._ Being around him in school is more than enough. I can't imagine being around him all day, every day!"

"My head would probably explode, that's for sure." Kaminari raked his fingers through his hair. "No offense, but I would hate to be in your shoes."

Sonic waved him off, reaching out to take his phone from Sero, but Ashido had skipped over and took it for herself. He snickered as she put her number in. "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine! Yeah, I could've ended up roomin' with someone that wasn't a grade A buzzkill, but I'll deal with 'im."

"Yeah, it's not like you have a choice, but-" Sero patted his shoulder. "-hang in there! Don't let him destroy your teen spirit!"

Sonic scoffed, watching his phone slowly drift from student to student. He'd get it back eventually. "I _definitely_ won't let that happen!" If he hadn't been brought down by giant machines, even bigger water monsters, or stubborn doppelgangers, a strict teacher surely wasn't going to do it.

The trio in front of him smirked at that, and Sonic figured it was time to change the subject to something more important. "So…how's the workload 'round here?"

The students shared a look, and Sonic had a good guess that it wasn't good.

The next handful of minutes was spent learning about how the class worked, and Sonic had a bad feeling about all of this. The physicals he could do, but the written stuff was extremely questionable. All Sonic could hope for was that some of the book-smart teens here would help him out.

He'd never get that license working by himself because math was his worst enemy.

"Class." A gruff voice suddenly filled the air, and everyone turned their heads to see mummified Aizawa standing in the doorway. Any conversation was cut, and feet scurried to desks.

Seeing green in the corner of his eye, Sonic glanced over to see Deku handing him his phone with a smile. The hedgehog nodded and placed it back into his pocket, ignoring the exasperated look Aizawa threw his way.

"Hey," Kaminari whispered, leaning slightly forward. "That's Ojiro's seat."

Sonic wasn't even surprised that there were assigned seats. Aizawa seemed like the type.

The hedgie hopped off the desk and smiled at Ojiro as he sat down, his huge tail curling to prevent being crushed. The boy returned the gesture before Sonic went to stand at the side of the large desk in the front of the room. Aizawa was positioned behind it, looking as tired as always.

The teacher scanned the room before his voice drawled out, "Nice work. You have the next couple of days off to recuperate." Sonic was relieved. He didn't have to start actual school yet. "I'm sure the pros who watched the festival would want to recruit some of you. We'll look at the draft forms and update you when you return." Aizawa released a shallow sigh. "Get some rest. You still have a lot of training."

"Yes sir!" the room chorused, Sonic being left out, too busy thinking about pro heroes and what kind of quirks _they_ could have.

"You're dismissed."

The scraping of chairs filled the air as students stood up, resuming conversations as they drifted toward the exit. Sonic smirked when irritated scarlets found his gaze, Bakugo growling at him before stomping out of the room. Dealing with Kacchan would be an interesting experience by itself.

Speaking of that explosive blonde…

Sonic took out his phone and unlocked it. Sure, he was a bit rusty at using these, but that didn't mean he was totally inept. Sonic found his contact list and scrolled through, snorting in amusement. He saw Midoriya's and Todoroki's names, along with most of everyone else's, but there was no Bakugo. It wasn't that surprising.

"Didn't I tell you that it was only for emergencies?"

"Huh?" Sonic glanced up from his device, seeing the teacher looking down at him through his bandages. They were the only ones left in the room. The hedgehog grinned up at the other, shaking the phone a bit. "Yeah! When I have an emergency, I can call ya easily!"

It was like Aizawa wanted to be angry, but he didn't have the energy to do so, but he just settled for irritated. "Whatever." Sonic smirked in victory when the teacher turned around, beginning to shuffle out of the room. "Just don't lose it."

"I won't!" Sonic chirped, tucking his phone back into his pocket, trailing after the mummy. They filtered out into the hallway, voices echoing throughout the hall as students made their way to the exit of the school. Sonic smiled at the students that noticed him, having a pep in his step.

Even though he was going to be living with Mr. Strict, Sonic couldn't wait to see how things were like outside of the school. Sonic loved exploring new places, industrial or otherwise. And he was extra excited because he was in a whole different _dimension._ Who knew what kind of sights they had here, and the _food…_ oh Sonic couldn't wait.

The hedgehog put a hand on his stomach when they exited the front doors of the school. The sunset shading everything with an orange hue, from the giant gate standing tall at the front to the skyscrapers and cars in the background.

"So what's on the to-do list, roomie?" Sonic asked, looking around and soaking in the sights. "You're gonna take me on a tour, possibly get some grub from a sweet restaurant, go-"

"We're going straight to my place," Aizawa drawled. "I have food there."

"Oh, come on-" Sonic gestured to his surroundings. "It's my first day here! You're not a very good welcoming committee."

"That's not my job." Aizawa didn't spare him a glance as they passed through the gate, sticking to the sidewalks. "My job is to reduce any potential villain attacks, and the chances of those will go up the more you're out in the population."

Sonic couldn't believe this. "So what you're sayin' is that I'm gonna be confined to your place and _school_ the whole time that I'm here?" The teacher noncommittally hummed, and the hedgehog rolled his eyes. "Well, I'll tell ya now that's not gonna work out. I get a little antsy in tight spaces."

Aizawa cut his gaze down at him, those eyes of his sharp. "Don't make me use my quirk on you."

Sonic linked his hands behind his head, clicking his tongue in slight annoyance. "That's a low blow, you know that?"

"It's my quirk. Of course I know."

"I really can't do anything to change your mind?"

"No."

"Even if I beg?"

" _Especially_ if you beg."

* * *

His mind was fuzzy. It felt like it was filled to the brim with cotton, making it hard to concentrate. A soft sigh escaped his mouth as his conscious slowly but surely came back to him, muffled sounds making his ears twitch.

It took some time, but he eventually got his stubborn eyelids to peel open. The bright lights tore a breathy hiss out of him. He blinked a few times to get used to the intensity, looking up at a white ceiling.

Dull yet curious yellow eyes scanned the room, noticing beeping machines, a white bed he was currently laying in, and curtains hiding a large window to the side.

He was obviously in a hospital, but why?

The blanket covering him pooled into his lap once he sat up with effort, peering down under the sheets when he felt something tight around his leg. He moved a section of the hospital gown he was wearing out of the way to find bandages wrapped around his thigh.

His brow furrowed as he lowered the blankets, for the life of him not remembering how he got hurt. "What happened…?" He reached up to scratch his head, but he froze when he touched more bandages. His hands traced the wrappings, them surrounding his entire head. "What in the world did I _do?_ " he whispered to himself, completely baffled.

Drooping ears perked when the door on the adjacent wall was pushed open. "Oh!" A human nurse paused in the doorway for a moment before a relieved smile grew on her face. "You're awake! That's great news."

He nodded at her, hoping that she could answer some of his questions. He opened his mouth to ask, but his words got caught in his throat when the nurse closed the door.

With one of her four tentacles.

He went stock-still, eyes widened to their fullest, focused on nothing but the appendages emerging from the woman's lower back. His mind was no longer filled with cotton, now on full alert because that was just _wrong._

The nurse noticed his deposition right away. "Is something the matter?" she asked, glancing over her shoulder and seeing nothing out of place. Of course she wouldn't; _she_ was the thing out of place. The nurse refocused on him, worry etched in her features. "Are you alright?"

He gaped like a fist out of water, trying to get his vocal cords work again. "You…T-tentacles…" He wasn't exactly coherent, but he was pretty sure he got his point across.

Or maybe he didn't, for the nurse just smiled at him. "Yep! That's my quirk. Most people seem a little weirded out by them at first, but they're really helpful, especially when I need extra hands while I work."

That only brought up a heap of more questions. He quickly settled for one as she approached the side of his bed, looking like a thing out of nightmares. "I…You would tell me if I was dreaming, right?"

The confusion was back, the nurse peering down at him with a slight frown. "Yes, I would…" She glanced over to the machines and read the numbers there. "All your vitals are fine…" she muttered before meeting his nervous gaze again. "How does your head feel?"

"Um." He tried hard to ignore the wriggling appendages behind her. He swallowed thickly before continuing, "It's…pretty clear." His mental health wasn't what he was worried about the most here.

The nurse hummed and nodded, pulling up a nearby chair with her _tentacles_ , and sitting by his bedside. "That's relieving. You had a pretty bad concussion when you were brought to us." He frowned, the unnatural appendages momentarily forgotten. A concussion? But how-? "Do you mind if I ask you a couple questions?"

If only he'd get his own answered too. He played with the hem of his gown. "No…I don't mind."

The nurse smiled at him again. "Alright, first off, what's your name?"

"Silver."

"Last name?"

Silver paused at that, this being the first time someone asked that question. After a moment of thought, he ventured, "Hedgehog."

"Oh!" The nurse brightened at that, giving him a once-over. "I may be wrong here, but are you by chance related to Sonic Hedgehog?"

Silver's breath hitched hearing that name, forgotten memories flooding his mind. He'd been hurt on the street, stumbling around with his head throbbing, bleeding, looking at a screen showing Sonic somewhere…Musutafu. That's what the man had said, right?

The white hedgehog knew that he had to find Sonic, but he didn't know why… He couldn't remember anything before then, still clueless about the origins of his injuries.

The nurse kept going, obviously oblivious to his thoughts. "I just wanted to ask because he has a great potential to be a hero, and if you are-"

" _Potential_ to be a hero?" Silver felt bad for cutting her off, but that just threw him for a loop. Sonic was already a hero, well known too. Silver hadn't known him for a long time, but it was common knowledge that Sonic was basically the _first_ hero to go toe-to-toe with Eggman. "What do you me-"

Once again, Silver's throat refused to let words through when he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. He fully faced the window showing the outside world, and he almost forgot to breathe.

The hospital seemed to be positioned on a city block, so Silver was looking out at a crossroads, seeing many civilians strolling about.

And let's just say, the nurse wasn't the _only_ one who could easily cause nightmares.

Silver bunched his sheets in his hands, eyes snapping back and forth to each human who _couldn't_ have fur, discolored skin, distorted appendages, and yet…

He had believed the green man he'd talked to while injured was just a delusion, but now he had second thoughts.

"Wh…" This was the most Silver's been speechless in a while. He whipped his head back toward the nurse, staring at her tentacles in apprehension again. "Where am I?"

The woman blinked at him, concern swirling in her eyes, before answering, "Kyoto." She must've noticed his befuddled look because she kept talking. "Japan. Kyoto, Japan."

Silver didn't know where he was; he'd never heard of this place in his _life._ He needed answers, and he was sure that the nurse didn't have them. He had to get to Sonic.

The white hedgehog opened and closed his mouth before inquiring, "Do you know who Eggman is?"

The nurse creased her eyebrows in confusion. "No, should I?"

Yeah, Silver had to leave.

"Let's get back to your question!" The hedgehog forced out a chuckle, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah, I'm related to Sonic! I'm his…brother! He was at…U.A academy in Musutafu, right?"

The nurse hesitantly nodded. "Yeah, he just won the sport's festival held there. Are you sure that your head is alright?"

"It's perfectly fine!" Silver smiled, lips twitching. He was pretty sure that it looked more like a grimace, but that wasn't important. "Does that mean I can go now?"

"Yes, but…" The nurse stood back up, pushing the chair back where she got it from with her _tentacles_. "I think it's best that you rest up a bit more here. We don't want to release you too early. It's better safe than sorry, right?"

No, it wasn't better, but he knew that pushing right now wasn't going to do him any favors. "That makes sense, yeah. I understand."

The smile was back on her face. "Alright then, sit tight while I get you some food. You must be hungry!"

Silver patted his stomach for show. "Starving!"

"I'll be back!" With a wave, the nurse walked over to the door and left him alone.

Silver counted to twenty before making jumping to action. He made a move to get out of his bed, but he hissed at the sharp pain in his arm. Golden irises snapped down to the needle attached to his skin. He winced when he yanked it out.

He hopped off the mattress, feet making contact with the cold tiled floor. Silver hastily searched for his boots because they _had_ to be somewhere. They were in front of his bed; the hedgehog hastily slid them on before hightailing it for the window, leaving his gown behind.

Silver took a deep breath before holding up his hands. He focused, pulling from his mind, as his fingers glowed cyan. Then, the outline of the window lit up as well. With a jerking movement, the hedgehog yanked the whole plane out of the wall. Inwardly cheering, Silver gently placed the glass on the floor, careful to not make a sound.

The hedgehog looked out of the hole, leaning against the ledge. A gentle breeze rustled his long hanging quills.

So, he had to get to Musutafu…somehow. Maybe he could ask someone down there? Silver focused on the civilians down below, and decided to go with a plan B. A map. He could read maps pretty well. But where… _there!_

There was a magazine stand down the street to his right. There had to be a map somewhere in that mess, right?

Nodding to himself, the psychic floated out of the hole in the wall and darted through the air to the stand. There were surprised shouts from below him, and Silver smiled down at the people in apology. He rose a brow as some of them were covering the eyes of their children but disregarded because he was on a mission.

Silver touched down in front of the stand and eyed the selection there, finding fashion magazines, ones about nature and hiking, ones about unfamiliar famous people…and ones about tourism! Bingo.

The hedgehog started to go through that stack, flipping through pages to find any kind of map. He paused in his search when a voice called out to him. "Hey!" Silver glanced up from a promising magazine that was all about U.A academy to focus on an incoming man with bulging muscles and an intense glare to match. "Don't you know that you're in public?"

"Uh…" Silver glanced around to notice that he was the center of attention. He looked up at the guy. "Yeah?"

"Then why are you _naked?_ "

"I'm not-" Silver peered down at his body. He technically wasn't naked, and sense when did it ever… The hedgehog surveyed the observing crowd again, seeing all of them clothed. And then there was the fact that he might not even _be_ in the world he was used too. Maybe he should've kept that gown.

"Sorry!" Silver rushed out, jabbing a finger over his should. "I…I'll just go." He was sure the magazine he had held what he was looking for, anyway.

The man growled. "Not without paying for that first!"

Silver blinked at him, glimpsed down at the magazine in his hands, and shifted his gaze back up.

Then he blasted off in the opposite direction, the man's angry shouts reaching his ears. Silver flew over the sidewalks, high enough over peoples' heads, as he scanned the magazine again.

However, he stopped in his path when he came across a clothing store. The psychic stared for a moment before ducking into it and rushing out with the first pair of yellow shorts he saw. They didn't look too expensive, so the store wouldn't miss it.

Silver slipped them on mid-flight before gaining altitude and slowing down. He didn't want to get too far away, for he needed to know his starting point. The hedgehog flipped through the booklet and sighed in relief when he finally found a map.

It showed all of uh…what he guessed was Japan. A lot of cites were listed, but one was in bold: Musutafu. Silver grinned up until the point he figured the scale, realizing that he was about to fly around _three hundred miles._

Great.

* * *

"Neat place you got here!" Sonic commented as he entered Aizawa's apartment. Curious eyes examined the living room in front of him. It wasn't extravagant or anything, but it was homey and warm, the complete opposite of the person residing in it.

When he was about to take anther step inside, a sharp voice came from behind him. "Shoes."

"Huh?" Sonic peered over his shoulder, gazing up at the teacher who didn't look amused.

"Take your shoes off," Aizawa muttered, tone bland yet commanding. "I don't want you dirtying up my home."

Sonic _guessed_ he could comply even though removing his shoes made him feel more naked than having no shirts or pants on. He deposited his sneakers by the front door as Aizawa shuffled in, doing the same.

Sonic padded away from his shoes and scanned his surroundings once more, socks muffling his steps. "Now that we're here, what's on the menu, chief? It better be good since you _refuse_ to let me enjoy the awesomeness of this city."

"Curry and rice," Aizawa retorted shortly as he made his way across the room, aiming for what Sonic believed was the kitchen. "Sit on the couch until its ready."

Sonic focused on said piece of furniture in the center of the room before rolling his eyes. "What, I can't even check out the place I'm gonna be livin' for a while?"

"No."

Sonic opened his mouth to retort about Aizawa being the worst host in the history of hosts, but a particular sound caught his attention. It was a meow. The azure hedgehog's gaze shifted to where it emitted from, and he made eye contact with a calico cat emerging from a hallway leading deeper into the apartment.

The hedgehog perked up, jogging over to the feline. "Oh, cool! You have a cat!" Sonic squatted down in front of the pet and held his hand out. It sniffed his fingers, glanced back up at the speedster, and rubbed its head against his palm when Sonic smiled. "Y'know, didn't think you were a cat person, teach. Or any kind of pet person."

There was a disgruntled sigh from behind him, and Sonic chuckled. "What's its name?"

"Doesn't matter."

The azure hero snorted, scratching under the cat's chin. "Hello, Doesn't Matter! Nice to meet you!" Sonic glanced back at Aizawa, and the man simply walked away into the kitchen.

"His name is Mittens."

"Mittens?" Sonic stood straight. "Very original!" He made sure that the sarcasm in his voice was palpable before raising a brow in the direction the cat came from.

"Don't even think about it," he heard from the other room.

Sonic inwardly groaned, going over to the couch and plopping down. "How'd you even know?"

"I'm a high school teacher."

In a weird way, that response explained it completely. "Yeah, yeah…" Sonic huffed as clinks and clangs sounded from the kitchen. The hedgehog frowned a little, remembering the condition of his roommate. "Can you even cook by yourself like that?"

"I'll manage."

Sonic wasn't going to push. "If you say so." He snickered when Mittens jumped on the cushion next to him, laying down and curling up after giving the speedster another look.

He then blinked when there was a vibration in his pants pocket. Sonic pulled out his phone and saw the message on the screen, snickering at what he read.

_**Kaminari:** _ _How's it so far with the teach? Hope he hasn't drained your soul already._

_**Sonic:** _ _Nah, I'm puttin' up a fight. And it makes it a little better that someone else is sharin' the pain with me._

_**Kaminari:** _ _Who?_

_**Sonic:** _ _He's gotta cat._

_**Kaminari:** _ _Seriously? Yes! Kirishima and Sero owe me twenty bucks!_

_**Sonic:** _ _For what?_

_**Kaminari:** _ _We made a bet on if Aizawa had a pet. I said he had a cat, Kirishima said he had a dog, and Sero said he didn't have a pet at all._

_**Sonic:** _ _Wait, Kirishima said he had a dog? Is he on any medication, or should he start takin' some?_

_**Kaminari:** _ _Haha, I know right?! But anyway man, me and the guys are planning on hitting the arcade tmr at noon to help take the load off. Wanna join?_

Sonic hummed to himself, pondering the blonde's question. A smirk grew on his muzzle as he threw his voice to where Aizawa was. "Can I hang with my buds at an arcade tomorrow?"

"Did you already forget what I told you?"

"No villain's gonna attack at an _arcade._ " If it was a casino, that was a different story. "And I'll let you know, when I get bored, I get destructive!"

"You're staying here. Someone has to teach you the ins and outs of how society works."

Sonic resisted the urge to stick out his tongue in the man's general direction. He returned to his phone.

_**Sonic:** _ _I'll be there, definitely!_

_**Kaminari:** _ _Awesome! I'll send ya the location around noon!_

_**Sonic:** _ _Thanks!_

_**Kaminari:** _ _You're welcome, man! No one needs to spend more time with Aizawa than they need to!_

Sonic left the conversation there, wondering how he was going to give his teacher the slip. Eh, he'd cross that bridge when he got there.

The speedster spent the next ten minutes or so messing with the cat who obviously wanted to sleep, but apparently had too much of a play drive to be upset.

"Come eat."

Sonic retracted his hand from Mittens' playfully swiping paw. He smiled apologetically before hopping to his feet and entering the clean but colorless kitchen. A savory scent hit his nose, and he couldn't say that it was bad.

He approached the kitchen table and settled in the wooden seat, feet not touching the ground. Sonic peered down at the plate and eyed the plate it food in front of him. He took the fork on the plate and shoveled some rice and curry into his mouth.

Alright, it was a lot better than he thought it was going to be. He thought Aizawa's whole thing was being meh, but _wow_ this was good.

"Slow down," Aizawa said as he sat down across from him. "I don't feel like performing CPR."

Sonic gave him a look before listening to the other's advice because yeah, choking on a piece of chicken was a rather lame way to go.

"So…" the speedster started after swallowing a mouthful, wanting to get a conversation going despite the chance of Aizawa not entertaining him in the process. "You're a teacher at U.A, huh? In charge of the hero course?"

"I'm not the only one." Aizawa uttered as he somehow ate with his bandaged hands. "I'm just over Class 1-A"

Sonic nodded, chowing down at a more sedate pace. "That means you're a hero, right? Since you teach others how to be one?" The man grunted, and Sonic translated it as a yes. "Do you work with others in your down time like Midnight, the cement guy, or All Might?"

"No." When Sonic titled his head at that, Aizawa thankfully responded, "I stay out of the spotlight. Most of my time is spent teaching."

"What's wrong with bein' in the spotlight?" Sonic mentally imagined all of the adoring fans, appreciative smiles, and impressionable kids. "Every time you show up, people will know that things will be okay! Isn't that enough to get your face out there?"

Aizawa eyed him, his expression unreadable, before resuming his dinner. "It's not for me."

Sonic pursed his lips and shrugged. "Whatever floats your boat, pal."

"I'm not your pal. I'm your _teacher._ "

The hedgehog smirked with a mouthful of curry. "Sure thing, roomie."

Sonic felt the regret roll off of Aizawa in waves. He stifled his laughter, enjoying his meal. Well, that was until the man said the words, "Remember when I talked about pro heroes recruiting? That doesn't apply to you."

Sonic almost dropped his fork in surprise. "What? Why?!" He'd been looking forward to that! "Is…Is this part of your thing about keepin' in eye on me? That's not fair!"

Aizawa locked gazes with him, looking at Sonic like _he_ was the one out of line. "Lower your voice. You're not participating in an internship because you obviously don't need it." Sonic blinked at that backhanded compliment. "While everyone else is shadowing heroes, you'll be helping me."

Sonic didn't know what to feel now. On one hand, he was angry that he wouldn't be able to check out the other pro heroes, but on the other, he was beyond curious about what Aizawa was talking about.

"Helpin' you out with what?"

Aizawa took another bite, chewed, and swallowed. "You'll find out later."

Sonic groaned audibly this time. "You can't just do that! You're gonna make me wait? I'm no good at waiting!"

"Not my problem."

Sonic narrowed his eyes at his roommate, not about to let his go, but Mittens demanded their attention with a loud mew. Sonic peered down to see the cat looking up at him, tail lazily swishing.

The hedgehog was a second from sharing a bit of his food, but of course, Aizawa cut in. "Don't feed him that. He'll get fat."

Sonic huffed. "You're _too_ good at destroying happiness."

"Again, I'm a high school teacher.

* * *

When Silver touched down, his knees instantly buckled.

He landed hard on his hands and knees, panting as his head throbbed. Silver raised an arm to massage his right temple, breath stuttering. He shouldn't have pushed himself that hard so fast _especially_ while recovering from a concussion.

Although, it didn't look like he had to push anymore.

Silver reached out for the magazine that had slipped out of his grip when he fell. He slid it over to him and flipped through the pages with slightly trembling fingers. He quickly found the page he was looking for. It was a dramatic picture of U.A academy.

Gazing up, the white hedgehog saw the massive gate, the even bigger building, and the numerous windows that reflected the moon's rays. Silver was pretty sure that he found the right place.

Now, his next step was finding Sonic…in this massive city.

Silver heavily sighed as his shakily stood back up, cradling his head. There was no way that he was going locate Sonic right now. There were _so_ many places to search, and it was nighttime. He didn't have the light of day on his side. And plus, he doubted that he'd be able to keep up the search in this state.

The darkness creeping in along the edges of his vision wasn't helping things either.

Silver took a wobbly step forward and stumbled immediately, crouching down in a kneel to keep from face-planting on the asphalt.

The hedgehog rubbed his forehead and closed his eyes, taking deep breaths that did nothing to ease his pounding headache.

"Hey! Are you okay?"

Silver turned his head and lowly hissed when his world blurred. There was something green running towards him with big worried eyes.

"I'm…I'm fine…" Silver managed as the green thing reached him, looking him over.

"You don't look fine!" the thing argued, and Silver guessed that it was someone his age. The voice was too low to be a kid's, but it was high to not be an adult's and _wow_ , the headache just turned into a migraine. "Do you…need to go a hospital?"

Silver shook his head, going for a smile. He'd _just_ got out of a hospital. He didn't want to be checked back into one. "I…" The hedgehog heard his voice growing weaker, the fuzziness in his brain coming back. "I just need…sleep…"

The psychic lurched forward, eyes slipping closed, and the last thing he felt were arms catching his fall.

* * *

When Silver woke up, he was laying on something soft, but this time, there wasn't the smell of disinfectant. That was a good sign that he wouldn't have to fly out of anymore windows anytime soon.

With a yawn, the white hedgehog peeled open his eyes, squinting against the bright light filtering through a nearby window. It must be morning…did he really sleep that long? Well, his mind had been completely exhausted, so he couldn't be that surprised.

Silver observed his surroundings, seeing a neat and tidy living room with a TV across from him on a stand. The psychic then sat up on the comfortable couch he had been sleeping on, the warm blanket covering him falling to the side.

He yawned again and stretched, more than glad that his headache was completely gone. Overusing his powers was _terrible_ , but at least the repercussions weren't long-lasting.

Silver glanced around again, taking a good look around the place. He was in an apartment, assuming that it belonged to the guy who found him. There were a couple exits from the living room, one way going further in the home and the other leading to a kitchen. Silver sniffed the air, a delicious aroma wafting in from the adjacent room.

He put a hand on his stomach when it imitated a whale call, and his ears perked when voices caught his attention.

"Did you hear him get up?"

"I don't know…but I'll check."

Silver heard a chair scrape against the floor, and it wasn't long until someone stepped into his light of sight. It had to the one who found him, his green curly hair and wide eyes being very familiar.

"You're awake!" The boy gave him a small relieved smile, though it seemed a bit wary.

Silver understood. He was a complete stranger after all. He returned the smile. "Yeah! Um, thanks for letting me sleep here."

Another person walked up behind the boy. It had to be the guy's mother, for there was a striking resemblance to one another. Her expression was warm as well. "You're welcome! You looked so sickly when Izuku brought you in!" She approached him. "I wanted to get you to a hospital, but he said that you didn't want to go…"

Silver nodded, knowing that she wanted an explanation. "I just had a headache, nothing a good rest couldn't fix!" He pointed to his head. "I feel much better now, thank you again!"

The boy, Izuku, was less wary now, but concern was present in his features. "What happened to you? You were in so much _pain_ before. That couldn't have been just a headache!"

Yeah, Silver knew he probably looked like a mess. He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Well, it was because of-" He was interrupted by his stomach's dying call again, and the mom giggled.

"You have to be hungry!" She gestured to the room behind her. "Do you want some breakfast? We have plenty! You can take it to-go too if your parents are worried, and I'm sure they are."

"I don't-" Silver paused, being reminded _why_ he was here in the first place. "I might have to take it to-go because uh…I'm looking for someone. My brother, actually."

The mother's eyebrows creased in confusion, while Izuku's eyes widened, a quiet gasp escaping him. "Your brother? Is his name Sonic, by any chance?"

Silver's gasp was much louder, surprise filling him. What were the _chances?_ "You know him!? Yes! Do you…Do you know where he is?"

A pensive look crossed the boy's face. "I know that he's with Mr. Aizawa but…" Izuku then run out of the room, calling over his shoulder, "I'll be right back!"

The mother sat on the opposite side of the couch from him, emitting happiness and curiosity. "I'm very glad that you've found your brother, um…"

Silver smiled apologetically, realizing that he hadn't even given his own name. "The name's Silver!"

She smiled. "It fits you!" Yeah, he'd heard that plenty of times before. "Anyway, you don't have to share if you don't want to, but how did you get separate from him?"

"It's…long story," Silver forced a chuckle right as Izuku came running back with a phone in his hand.

"I don't know exactly where he is," the boy began, walking over and holding up his device. "But I can call him, if you want?"

"Yes, please!"

* * *

Sonic stifled a burp as his breakfast settled in his stomach. He leaned back in his chair and stared at the man in front of him, an amused smirk on his muzzle. "You really don't trust me at all, huh? Sneakin' out in the dead of night while I'm snorin' on the couch to go get healed?" He balanced on the two back legs of the chair. "Yeah, I appreciate you gettin' me some looser clothes, but I'm hurt!"

Aizawa simply grunted, going over to put both of their plates in the sink. Sonic could actually see the guy's face now, and he didn't think it was possible, but he looked even _more_ unamused. Though, that scar under his eye made Sonic wonder exactly how bad he got beat up. If the wound scarred even with RG's quirk, then it had to have been rough.

Sonic was about to comment on it, but then a ring came from his shorts pocket. He glanced at the caller-ID, not expecting Deku's name. Sonic shrugged, starting the call and greeting with a, "Hello?"

" _Sonic!"_

Sonic's brow furrowed. There's was something off with the teen's voice. "Uh, Deku? You got a cold or somethin', buddy?"

" _What? No! It's me, Silver!"_

"Silv-" Sonic sat up straight in his chair, the seat slamming back against the ground. "Silver?! What? How-"

" _I don't know! I woke up alone and you don't know how_ _ **long**_ _I flew and… Just, where are you?"_

Aizawa was peering back at the hedgehog, but Sonic ignored him, too busy trying to process all of this. Silver was here too? What exactly was going on? "I'm-" He glanced over the staring teacher before standing up. "Where are you? Is Deku near you? Get him to send the location, I'll be there in a sec!"

" _Who's Deku? Oh…it's you?"_ Silver's voice had gone a little soft there before regaining its volume again. _"Okay! He's going to send it!"_

"Alright!" Sonic hung up and jogged over to where his shoes were by the front door, slipping them on and waiting for the notification.

"You're not going anywhere."

Sonic scoffed as he faced Aizawa, raising a brow at the red eyes and the floating hair. His quirk had to be in action; however…Sonic didn't feel any different. He didn't know if he was supposed to or not, but it was questionable enough for the speedster to test it out.

Shifting his weight, Sonic sped over to the man, not feeling any slower than usual. He smirked up at Aizawa, who was showing the most emotion Sonic had ever seen the guy make. There was nothing but unadulterated shock.

Sonic snickered as a sharp ping came from his phone. "Guess it doesn't work on me, huh? See ya in a bit!"

Aizawa was much too slow in trying to wrap Sonic up with his scarf. The front door slammed barely a second latter, and the teacher immediately grabbed his own phone. His finger rapidly dialed a number as he relaxed his quirk. Someone eventually picked up.

" _Hello?"_

"All Might, we have a problem."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the newcomer is Silver! Props to those who guessed correctly! This was more of a cooldown chapter, focusing more on interactions and the introduction of a specific psychic, but I hoped you enjoyed anyway!


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which blue and white meet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait! Hope you enjoy the chapter!

" _Are you serious?"_

"This wouldn't be the time for jokes."

" _I know, but, it's just strange! His quirk isn't a mutant type quirk, so how-"_

"I don't know."

" _How did you figure out that your quirk doesn't work?"_

"When he left my apartment just now. His speed was the same as it always had been."

" _This is a problem… The main reason you were picked to watch Sonic was because of your ability to restrain him."_

"It's more of a problem than you think. There might be another one of him."

" _What makes you think-"_

"He got a phone call from what it seemed like an old friend. And if there's a possibility that Sonic is with the League of Villains, then-"

" _This friend might be too."_ There was a sigh. _"This is bad. Where is he going?"_

"Midoriya's."

" _Then use the tracker we put in his phone to go get-"_

"I'm not doing that, All Might. The only reason I called you was for you to share this information with the other teachers who know about this, and for you to be ready in case we have to take drastic measures."

"… _I understand. Antagonizing one incredibly powerful kid is already a bad idea, but the potential of another one of Sonic's caliber is…"_

"Exactly. I'll try to get him back here as soon as possible. Be ready for anything."

" _Right."_

Aizawa hung up.

* * *

"Did you send it?"

Izuku nodded with a smile, and Silver hadn't felt this amount of relief in a _long_ while. It wouldn't be long until was he wasn't alone in this crazy world filled with mutated humans with the potential to have _tentacles_ anymore. At least he didn't have to worry about any extra appendages with Izuku and his mom. They seemed like the normal humans Silver was more comfortable with.

"He sounded really happy to hear from you." The mother's expression was just as warm. "You two must be really close!"

Well, Sonic had forgiven him for trying to kill him a couple times in the past, so yeah, they were pretty friendly toward each other. Not brotherly close though; Tails would have a fit.

They couldn't know that however. Silver forced the awkwardness out of his chuckle. "Yeah, we've been through thick and thin together." Having been through near apocalypses and near-death experiences with a time monster was a more accurate statement, but they didn't need to know that either.

"Speaking of him, or just you two in general…" Izuku started, eyes sparkling in interest. "Sonic's quirk is super speed, so what's yours?" He seemed to rein himself in, asking meekly, "Um…if you have one?"

Silver was suddenly reminded of the nurse calling her tentacles a _quirk_ , and his mind assumed that the boy was talking about powers or abilities. However, before the hedgehog could respond, a jingle emitted from the phone still in Izuku's hold.

"Huh? Oh…" Izuku examined his phone, his eyebrows creasing. "It's Sonic. Why is he calling?" The teen held it up to his ear. "Hello?"

Silver perked his ears and managed to pick up on Sonic's response. _"Hey, Deku? Wanna tell me which apartment you're in?"_

"Tell you which-" Izuku sharply inhaled, eyes widening to their fullest. "You're already _here?"_

There was laughter on the other end. _"Can't be that surprised, now can ya?"_

"No, but…" Deku's shocked gaze settled on Silver, and the psychic just grinned, inwardly chuckling. He couldn't blame the guy. Silver was sure that Sonic's speed threw _everyone_ for a loop when they first met him. "N-Nevermind! I'll just step outside so you can see me!"

" _That'll work!"_

Izuku hung up his phone and jogged over to the front door. Silver hopped off the couch and trailed after him, eager. A gentle breeze and warm sunlight met the psychic once he stepped out of the apartment. They were a couple floors up, so Silver could get a good look of what he could see of the city.

It was more lively and colorful now, which made sense because people weren't getting ready for bed in their homes. There were people of different shapes and sizes wandering the streets, and well, there was one familiar face down on the ground.

"Sonic!" Izuku called out, catching the attention of the formerly lost speedster. Silver was sure that Deku's neighbors would forgive this loud wake-up call. Hopefully they were awake already. "Up here!"

Sonic perked up, and Silver barely had time to wave before the azure hedgehog raced up the stairs and across the walkway, abruptly stopping in front of him and Deku.

While the green-haired teen recovered from Sonic's sudden appearance, Silver managed to wave this time at his grinning friend. "Hey! Uh…" Silver glimpsed over at Izuku, remembering the cover he made up. "Bro! It's so lucky that I found you!"

Sonic was happy to see Silver in all, but maybe those bandages he was wearing around his head weren't just for show. The beginnings of a confused frown grew on his muzzle, and Silver gave the oblivious Izuku another look.

…Oh. Was this some kind of cover story? Sonic could roll with that. "Hey, lil bro!" Sonic chuckled at the slightly exasperated expression on Silver's face before trapping the psychic in a loose headlock. "Thought I left ya back home! How'd you get over here?"

Silver really hadn't planned for Sonic to act so well, eventually managing to escape the hold. He'd get the speedster back for that later. "I flew a _long_ way." Silver gestured to the wrappings around his head. "The headache I had from it was _killer-"_

"You flew _y-yourself_ here?!" Deku exclaimed, his shocked greens shifting from Sonic to Silver. "Thousands of miles?!"

"I…" Silver glanced over to Sonic, who seemed just as interested in his answer. He figured it was for an entirely different reason however. Silver refocused on Izuku with a sheepish smile, briefly shrugging. "…had rest?"

Deku's expression lit up. "That's insane! How'd you do it? What's your quirk?" he rapid-fired, and Silver guessed that he could show off a bit. The other already knew Sonic's power.

"Telekinesis!" Silver smirked over at Sonic before making the speedster glow cyan, picking him off the ground, and turning him upside down with a surprised yelp. "Pretty cool, right?"

Deku couldn't be any more awe-struck, examining everything from Silver's raised arm, to the light blue aura, to Sonic's huffy expression. "C-Cool? It's _amazing!"_

Sonic rolled his eyes good-naturedly. Sure, Midoriya would think Silver's power was great until he started ramming him into multiple buildings over and over again. "Yeah, yeah, it's a sight to see, but can ya let me down, _bro?_ Really don't wanna pass out because of the blood rushin' to my head!"

Silver lowly snickered before settling Sonic back onto his feet, releasing his hold on the other. The psychic faced the green-haired teen again. "I can make myself fly too, and-" Silver stopped mid-sentence because he was sure that Izuku didn't catch a word he said. The guy was muttering to himself deep in thought, his fingers cradling his chin.

"Quirk similar to Uraraka's…downside is mental strain…better for combat or for rescue…"

"Is-" Silver didn't know what to make of this. "Is he broken?"

"Nah." Sonic grinned and waved the other hedgehog off, thinking that if Silver was stunned by _this_ behavior, he couldn't wait until a certain dandelion was introduced. He wondered how Kacchan would take being bested by two hedgehogs. Probably not well. "He just does that sometimes. It's no big deal, unless he forgets to take a breath. Then that might be a problem."

"Huh." Silver wasn't going to question it. "If you say so."

Sonic eyed Silver, wanting to ask many questions – for example, _how_ was he here, how did he find Midoriya, and most importantly, did he remember _anything_ Sonic didn't – but couldn't because blowing their hasty cover in front of Deku wasn't exactly the smartest idea.

Luckily – or unluckily – for him, the phone in his pocket dinged. Sonic pulled it out and read the number, temporarily ignoring Silver's curious gaze. Sonic scoffed as he answered. "Yo, teach! What can I do ya for?"

" _Come back now, or I will give you lunch detention for as long as I see fit."_ As much as Sonic appreciated this excuse to leave, that threat was a little weak. However, Aizawa instantly changed his opinion with his next words. _"Meaning: No lunch until I say so."_

Sonic was planning on going back anyway, but man, this dude was _heartless_. Could he even do that? Sonic wouldn't be surprised if he could. "Don't get your scarf in a knot, roomie! On my way back now!" The statement caught Midoriya's attention as well.

" _Hurry up."_

"Did you forget who you're talkin'-" Aizawa abruptly ended the call, and Sonic blinked down at the phone. He put a hand on his hip. "Rude." A lopsided smile grew on his muzzle as he addressed Midoriya. "Well, gotta get back to the teach before he throws a fit." He rose a hand in farewell. "See ya, Deku!"

Midoriya waved back. "See you in class!" He held his hand out for the confused psychic to shake. "And it was nice meeting you, Silver!"

Silver shook it, recovering from the numerous bits of information that didn't make _any_ sense. Sonic was staying with a teacher? He and Izuku had _class_ together? What? "You too, uh…Deku!" Silver looked back into the apartment, waving at the woman still on the couch. "And thanks for letting me spend the night, Deku's mom!"

"It wasn't any issue!" She smiled at him. "I'm just glad you're alright and with your brother."

Sonic peered into the living room as well, beaming at her. "Hi, Mrs. Midoriya! Great job raisin' this kid there." He patted a slightly flustered Deku on his arm. "Because he's awesome!"

She giggled. "He sure is! Nearly gives me a heart attack at least twice a week, but he's still my amazing boy."

Midoriya held his head in his hands, cheeks flushed. "Mom…"

Sonic laughed with Silver stifling his chuckles beside him. "Alright." Sonic regarded the psychic, jabbing a thumb over his shoulder. "It's time for you to meet the biggest stick in the mud ever."

Silver gave him a dubious look. "Is he worse than Shadow?"

"Definitely."

Sonic snorted at the unenthused frown on the other's face and ran off, shouting over his shoulder, "Keep up if you can!"

Silver waved at the Midoriyas one last time before jumping into the air and mentally catching himself. He smiled at Izuku's stunned gasp as he shot over the railing of the walkway, not wanting to lose Sonic. Wind flowed through his quills as he descended just above the blue hedgehog's head. It was easy to keep up because Sonic wasn't going full speed, which Silver was grateful for. He didn't want to push his brain too far right now.

No conversation was had as Sonic concentrated on not running any pedestrians over, and as Silver warmly greeted the surprised expressions he received from citizens while flying low in the sky.

It wasn't terribly long until Sonic slowed down in front of another apartment complex, Silver eyeing it as he floated. "This is where you're staying?"

"Yep! Third floor." Sonic zipped up the nearby steps until he reached the apartment he _hoped_ was Aizawa's. This should be it. Silver landed beside him as he knocked twice.

The door immediately opened, revealing a severely unhappy teacher.

Silver blinked up at the sharp eyes that instantly focused on him, believing that Sonic's description of the man was a tad off. He might be a stick in the mud, but he was also very _intimidating._

"Who are you?" a gravely voice commanded more than asked.

"I'm Silver, sir!" He managed what he hoped was a genial smile, wanting to get on this guy's good side. He had no idea if he had a quirk – because apparently not all humans had one, according to Deku – and whether or not the scarf around his neck was actually a dangerous weapon. "I'm Sonic's broth-"

"There's no need for that, Silver!" Sonic interrupted him, nodding over to the human. "Aizawa here-"

" _Mr._ Aizawa."

"Yeah, that. He knows the truth about what's goin' on!" Sonic stretched his arms over his head, saying to the teacher, "Silver's a friend from my dimension!"

"Dimension…?" Silver repeated. He knew that wherever he woke up was a _long_ way from home, but being an a completely different dimension? That was a surprise and a half.

If Aizawa was fazed by this, it didn't show. He grunted and moved out of the way so the pair of hedgehogs could enter. "You need to learn from him, Sonic," Aizawa uttered as Sonic took his shoes off, Silver following his lead. "He has the manners that you lack."

"I have manners!" Sonic rebutted, going to plop down on the couch. "I just rarely use them on grumpy teachers. Don't really deserve it, y'know?"

Silver went to sit as well, wondering _how_ exactly these two managed to stay under one roof.

Aizawa didn't respond to Sonic's teasing, instead closing the door and moving to stand right in front of the pair of hedgies. His tired yet calculating stare rested on Silver. "Tell me your story."

"Yeah, I want to know too," Sonic added, and Silver blinked at the calico cat that had seemingly appeared in the speedster's lap. Sonic smirked. "Silver, meet Mittens. Mittens, Silver." The feline meowed in interest.

"Stop distracting him." Aizawa sounded exasperated already, giving the psychic an expectant stare.

He guessed that was his cue. "Um, well, all I remember is being really hurt in some place called Kyoto, nothing before that. I think I passed out after seeing you on TV." Silver glanced over at a Sonic. "At a sport's festival or something?"

Sonic pensively nodded because he and Silver had similar experiences. Though, he was lucky enough _not_ to be conscious while in pain. "Yeah, but I'll explain the awesomeness of that later because you and I are in the same boat, Silver! We both woke up in hospitals, and I have _no_ clue how I got here."

"Really?" Silver didn't know how he felt about that. "What in the world happened to us?" His breath caught when a thought entered his mind, chewing his bottom lip in worry. "And what if we weren't the only ones brought to this place? Our friends could be hurt somewhere!"

"Sure, but…" Sonic tapped his foot on the floor. "We don't know for _sure_ that they're here, or that they got roughed up as much as we did." The speedster ran his hand down his face. "Amnesia is the _worst._ " He suddenly sympathized more with Shadow. Sonic then asked Aizawa, "You know anyone who can reverse it, teach?"

Aizawa was never going to like his nickname, it seemed. He deadpanned. "No, I don't." The adult refocused on a fidgety Silver. "You're not done yet. How did you find Midoriya?"

"It's the other way around, actually." Silver fought the urge to scratch under his bandages, hoping that none of their friends were hurt. "After waking up at the hospital, I-" Broke out, displayed public indecency, stole a map and some shorts. "-remembered what I saw on the TV, asked for directions, and flew all the way here."

"You flew three hundred miles?" Aizawa sounded like a tired and less enthusiastic Midoriya. Dark eyes gave the psychic a once-over. "What's your quirk?"

"Telekinesis, sir." At the subtle cocked eyebrow, Silver demonstrated by lifting Sonic yet again. He just rose him a couple inches off the couch this time, the unaffected cat mewing in surprise. Silver released Sonic after a couple seconds, explaining, "I can use it on myself too, so uh…yeah."

Aizawa was silent for a moment before demanding, "Do it again. I need to test something."

Sonic snickered both at the question and at Silver's hesitance. "Don't worry 'bout it, Silver. He just wants to test his quirk on ya, that probably won't even work." Smugness leaked into his tone. "He tried to take my speed away, can ya believe that?"

"Take away your…" It eventually clicked in Silver's mind, suddenly wary about the human in front of him. "You…You can take away someone's power?"

"Temporarily." Aizawa grunted, his patience – the little that he had – was obviously wearing thin. "My quirk won't harm you in any way."

If it affected him at all, Silver thought to calm himself down. It didn't work on Sonic, so it shouldn't on him, right? Obeying, the psychic raised himself off the sofa this time about an inch, and he almost lost his concentration when Aizawa's eyes glowed red. Both his hair and his scarf swirled up into the air beside his head.

Sonic smirked when nothing happened, happy to know that the teacher couldn't hold that over them. "See? Told ya."

Silver plopped back on the couch when Aizawa stopped looking like something out of a Halloween special. "So…that's your quirk?"

"Yeah." Aizawa glanced between the two hedgehogs, jaw subtly clenched. "It should have prevented you from using your telekinesis." Before either Sonic or Silver could comment on that, the teacher changed the topic. "Back to Midoriya."

"Oh, right." Silver recounted his memories. "I first found U.A because I knew that's were the festival was held, but because of my bad headache, I couldn't really do much else." He forced a chuckle. "Midoriya found me out there and took me in. I woke up in his apartment, he called Sonic, and…here we are."

Aizawa closed his eyes and sighed before strolling away from them. "Stay here. I need to make a call."

"Ooo! Who is-"

"None of your business," he cut Sonic off as he left the room.

Sonic stuck his tongue out, and Silver wondered if the speedster was _really_ a year older than him.

Childish actions aside, the psychic wanted to know what _that_ was about. "Did I say something wrong?"

Sonic shrugged. "Who knows? Breathe wrong around the guy and he gets mad."

Silver frowned in the direction the man left in for a second before turning his attention to his friend. "Okay so, you know my story, so spill exactly _why_ you're enrolled in a school and have him as a teacher. Because that's just weird."

"Better pop some popcorn, Silv. You're in for a long one."

* * *

"Did you hear everything, Principal?"

" _Yes…Yes I did, Aizawa."_

"What do we do now, then? For some reason, I'm powerless against the both of them."

" _It seems so…"_

"Because of this and the nature of his quirk, we have to keep a cautious eye on him."

" _We can't enroll him in the school, since it would cause confusion and may rouse thoughts of unfairness among others."_

"And there's the suspicion that there might be _more_ of them out there."

" _Perhaps, there is also the possibility that there aren't any more. And…the possibility that Sonic and Silver aren't villains at all."_

"But there is a chance that they _are_ , and we can't leave either of them unsupervised until it's proven."

" _Their personalities are evidence enough, but before you say it, I know that villains can be experts at deceit. However, they haven't done anything yet even though they have the power to. Silver had been completely alone with Midoriya for some time."_

"They could be playing the long game here."

" _I realize, but they did mention amnesia-"_

"We can't trust their word."

" _You're right."_

"I don't think I should house them. Midnight would be the better-"

" _We shouldn't make any hasty decisions to make them question anything, and I personally think Midnight isn't the best candidate for housing teenage boys. Just keep your phone handy in any case of suspicious activity."_

"But you don't believe they're villains."

" _I never said that. I said there is a chance that they're not and are truly lost and confused. However, since we don't know where they lay on that spectrum, we have to keep the safety of society in mind."_

A sigh. "Well, disregarding our opinions on the matter, if things stay the same, what do we do with Silver?"

" _Hm…I have an idea."_

* * *

Silver's head was spinning.

Hero classes? Hero licenses? Needing said license to _be_ a hero? A class full of quirks? Midoriya had _super strength?!_

Sonic lazily petted Mittens, enjoying Silver's frozen expression as he processed everything he told him. It _was_ a lot to take in, he'd admit.

Silver gaped like a fish before eventually breathing out, "This place is both awesome and _terrifying._ "

"Accurate." Sonic chuckled. "But you've dealt with worse stuff! This is just an unexpected vacay."

"Is it, though?" The ghost of a frown marred the psychic's muzzle. "No vacations that I've taken keep you from doing what's right…"

"Oh, you're talking about the law stuff?" Sonic could agree with the other about that aspect. "Yeah, it's kinda messed up, but what can you do?"

Silver eyed the speedster, tentatively petting the cat who had settled between the pair. "And, when did you start asking for permission for anything?" he asked, honestly confused.

Sonic linked his hands behind his head, asking himself that same question. "Well, I'm not _really_ because if we do find that warp guy, I'm runnin' in, license or not." Silver's lips twitched upwards, that being more in character. "It's just that we gotta _find_ him first, and I wanna be in the hero loop when it happens. Doubt I'd get the memo if I flunked out and was bumming around here. Plus, the friends I made in class are pretty cool too."

That was good and all, but Silver wasn't planning on following in his footsteps. He and school went together like oil and water. "While you do that, I'm going to avoid lectures like the plague." Sonic rolled his eyes even though he believed that Silver was the lucky one here. "Just let me know if the villain is found so I can help. No law is going to stop me."

Sonic scoffed in jest. "Yeah, I've learned."

"Okay, maybe I was just a _little_ hasty back then."

"Only a little?"

Before Silver could retaliate and defend himself, Aizawa reentered the living room with his arms folded across his chest. His unreadable expression told them nothing about the call he just had.

"I just got off the phone with Principal Nezu, telling him about the situation." Aizawa made eye contact with Silver. "Because of your quirk, he wants you to be a teacher's assistant."

Silver was speechless while Sonic burst out in laughter. "You're going to be a TA? And just when you thought you wouldn't step foot in school!"

The psychic managed to give the speedster a pointed look. "Well, at least _I_ won't be the one taking the tests." That shut Sonic up, but Silver couldn't enjoy his little victory because there were more pressing matters. He frowned at Aizawa, not understanding. "Why does he want _me_ to-"

The teacher exhaled out of his nose. "Because your quirk could help teachers in the classroom, and it could help train the students whenever they do physical work."

"I-" Silver thought about it for a second. There were no real downsides to this, other than being thrust into an entirely new environment. It wouldn't be so bad though; Sonic was there, and he'd already made friends. He might as well make some too because who _knew_ when they would run into the warp guy. "I guess I could do it?"

"Welcome to U.A., Silv!" Sonic held up a hand, thinking that this whole experience was about to be much more interesting. Though, it sucked that he technically had to suffer.

Silver's high-five wasn't the strongest. "Well, when do I um…start?"

"The day after tomorrow. That's when classes start back up," Aizawa answered, and Silver nodded. He looked down at his stomach when it loudly rumbled, cheeks flushing in embarrassment. He _totally_ forgot to take some off the food the Midoriyas offered him. "Come eat something." Silver glanced back up at Aizawa, who was nodding toward what he assumed was the kitchen. "You'll need your energy."

Silver furrowed his brow, looking identical to Sonic beside him. "For what?"

"Nezu wants to see your quirk in action himself."

* * *

_**Kaminari:** _ _Hey, still up for a trip to the arcade, man?_

_**Sonic:** _ _I gotta take a rain check on that! My bro came to town and I wanted to hang a bit with him!_

_**Kaminari:** _ _You have a brother?! Even more reason to come hang with us! We gotta meet him!_

_**Sonic:** _ _You'll meet him soon enough! Sorry about ducking out last minute!_

_**Kaminari:** _ _You better keep your word, dude! Cuz you owe us now!_

"Whoa, this place is _huge!_ "

Sonic snickered as he pocketed his phone, stepping out into the sunlight to be greeted by the all-too-familiar U.A. stadium. Silver was in awe as he looked around, but Sonic had to say that the place was much more impressive when virtually every seat was occupied by cheering fans.

While Silver was distracted by the sheer mass of the arena before them, Sonic's attention immediately snapped to the group of heroes conversing off to the side.

Huh, from the way Aizawa had worded it, he thought only the principal would be here. That wasn't the case though; they had a little audience. Buff All Might was there along with Nezu, Cementoss, Midnight, Present Mic, and Recovery Girl.

"We have more company than I thought, Mr. A!" Sonic chirped, peering over his shoulder at Aizawa trailing them.

"Silver would be helping most of them out," the teacher drawled. "So it makes sense that they would come to meet him."

The topic of their conversation wasn't even listening, too focused on the gigantic bodybuilder and the walking _cement_ block standing in the arena. What in the heck was in the humans' _food_ here?

Sonic grinned as he patted the other's shoulder and guided him toward the heroes, for Silver had completely frozen. The teachers had noticed them by this point. Sonic raised a hand in greeting. "Hey, everyone!"

The adults closed in the distance as well, warmly greeting him back. Of course, All Might was the loudest. "Hello, young Sonic!" he boomed with a wide smile. The two groups stopped in front of each other, and All Might turned his attention to the stunned psychic. "And you must be young Silver, correct?"

Silver gaped like a fish out of water, all words dying before they escaped his throat.

Sonic rolled his eyes before nudging his friend. "Snap out of it, Silv! He's not gonna bite your head off!"

All Might laughed. "Can't be the number one hero with that kind of reputation!" He held out a hand. "It's very nice to meet you!"

Silver's brain eventually came back online, hesitantly reaching up to shake the hand. "I-It's nice to meet you too, s-sir." He pulled his arm back after a second, placing a disbelieving hand on his forehead. "This is crazy…!"

Sonic snorted, amused. "Ignore him," he told the teachers. "He's still adjusting."

"It's understandable." Nezu stepped up, catching Silver's eye. "It can be a lot to take in." The bipedal rodent-thing gestured to himself. "Hello, Silver, I'm Nezu, the principal of U.A. High." He then introduced the rest of the adults. "You were just talking to All Might, this is Present Mic, Midnight-" Silver's cheeks subtly darkened at the sight of her. "-Recovery Girl, and Cementoss."

Silver simply nodded, mind still whirling.

Nezu smiled at him. "Well, you know why you're here, right? Did Aizawa tell you?"

"Uh…yeah," Silver said, his voice regaining a bit of strength. "He said that I would…be a teacher's assistant at the school?"

Nezu nodded, and the Mic – whose blonde hair was defying gravity – chuckled. "It's about time we get extra help because the kids would definitely stop talking if they're ten feet in the air!"

Sonic knew that would probably work on like half of the students. The other half would just get louder.

"Before we get that far…" Midnight put a hand on her hip, smirking. "Aren't we here for a show?"

"Yes, we are." Nezu regarded Silver. "Aizawa told me that telekinesis is your quirk." The psychic nodded. "You don't mind demonstrating it for us, right? Cementoss is here to help determine how strong you are, and how you can potentially help the students."

Silver eyed the grey man; he seemed friendly enough. "I don't mind…What's your po – I mean, quirk?"

"I can manipulate concrete at will," he calmly responded, and Silver should've honestly known that by looks alone.

Sonic couldn't wait to see this. "This'll be a piece of cake for you, Silver! You've lifted like _ten_ cars at the same time before."

"My new best is fifteen," Silver corrected him with a small grin, his nerves steadily going away. The hedgehog then touched the bandages around his head. "But I don't know how well I'll do because of the concussion…"

"I can help with that, deary." Recover Girl shuffled forward, her welcoming expression relaxing Silver even more. "My quirk is healing others with a simple touch." Sonic snickered. She wasn't wrong, but it was really misleading.

"Oh, okay!" Silver didn't know how it would feel like. Would it be similar to Chaos healing, or something el – His train of thought derailed when the woman's suddenly _large_ lips aimed for his cheek. Silver quickly sidestepped, not wanting to be violated. "What – What are you-"

"It's how she activates her quirk!" Sonic explained, pushing the other back over. "It's not as bad as it looks. I for one can vouch for that!"

RG chuckled at the speedster. "You sure can, with the many times you visited me on your first day." She refocused on Silver, and when he steeled himself for what was to come, she pecked him on the cheek.

Silver blinked, and it was over. He released a sigh at the feeling of his mind clearing up, any consequences of his long flight gone. "Wow…that's really cool!"

Recovery Girl just smiled, and Nezu took control of the conversation again. "Now that you're healed, are you ready to start?"

"Definitely!" Silver responded, more energized than before.

Cementoss began to move toward the concrete stage in the center of the arena. "Good. Follow me to the middle." Silver hurried to jog after the man, wanting to see exactly how he matched up against Cementoss' quirk.

Sonic remained with the pro heroes, watching aptly. Nezu stepped up to him, his eyes on Silver as well. "Fifteen cars? He's that powerful?"

The azure hedgehog scratched his nose. "Oh yeah. His powers are nothin' to laugh at! Well, he's nowhere as fast as I am, but still! A great friend to have around in a pinch!"

Nezu hummed and didn't say anything else.

On the concrete stage, Silver stood beside Cementoss, waiting for any kind of instruction. He didn't have to wait long, for the man crouched down and splayed his hands out on the stage. A large concrete wall about double the height of All Might grew in front of them. "Try to break this," Cementoss uttered in his deep voice.

"That's it?" Silver thought there would be a more complicated task, but he wasn't going to complain. "Alright!" The psychic shot both of his arms up, causing the slab to glow and yanking it from the ground in one simple move. He then tore it in half, the action being as simple as ripping paper. To show off a bit, Silver clenched his hands into fists, crushing the cement halves into compact spheres before dropping them to the ground.

"Impressive," Cementoss praised, and Silver mentally patted himself on the back. The pro didn't pause for long though, creating another cement wall that was double the height _and_ width of the one before it. "Do the same with this one."

"Got it!" For a better vantage point, Silver flew up and positioned himself in the center of the massive rectangle. He repeated what he did before, the pieces of concrete crumbling down from the floating concrete. It took a _little_ more effort to crack the slab in half, but he grinned at the satisfying snap of the resistant stone.

A couple seconds later, two heavy concrete balls crashed to the ground, puffing up clouds of dust.

On the sidelines, Sonic chuckled at the teachers' various expressions. Mic's chin was basically scrapping the ground. "There's so much power and potential in such a small body!"

"Don't underestimate us hedgehogs, I tell ya." Sonic waggled a finger at him. "We'll sweep ya right off your feet!"

"I believe you wholeheartedly!" All Might agreed. "Both of your quirks are outstanding!"

Sonic winked up at him. "You haven't seen the half of it, pal!"

Back on the stage, Silver flew back down in front of Cementoss, feeling high off his small victories. He understood why Sonic showed off sometimes. "Alright, what's next?"

Cementoss remained silent this time, and Silver wondered if he was thinking about the next step. However, that wasn't the case for a thin pillar of concrete launched out of the ground right under the psychic.

Silver gasped at the unexpected attack, swerving to the side to avoid the hard hit that would've _definitely_ left a bruise. He didn't have a chance to recover, more pillars manifesting and shooting for him like hungry snakes.

Okay, so…had this turned into a fight, or something? Silver was all for it.

The psychic was mindful to stay in the perimeter – also not flying too high to make this unfair – as he cut through the air, eyeing the mailable concrete reaching to take him down. It wasn't fast enough though, Silver dodging each and every tendril aimed for him.

Pushing away any feelings of awe – if Cementoss could do this, what could the others do? – Silver swooped down and grabbed the two bigger spheres of concrete he'd compacted earlier. Whirling around, he smashed the balls into the reaching pillars, causing both attacks to shatter.

Shards of stone exploded in various directions, Silver plucked the sharper sizeable pieces out of the air, avoiding the rest of the debris. Changing tactics, the white hedgehog rushed Cementoss with the numerous shards he collected circling his body.

The man was watching him keenly, and Silver saw the ground in front of him shift. Like before, a huge concrete wall formed between him and the teacher. However, with one swipe of his unoccupied hand, Silver ripped the stone from its foundation and launched it off the side.

The concrete pillars behind him still hadn't given up chase, but no attacks had time to hit. Everything froze when the pointed chucks of stone surrounded Cementoss, every piece ready to be launched at any time.

Silver meekly smiled as the pro glanced at all of the dangerous projectiles around him. "I guess I passed?"

Cementoss lowly hummed, eyes zeroing back on the psychic. "Don't celebrate too hastily. You've turned your back on an enemy's attack."

White ears twitched at the sounds of concrete stretching behind him, but Silver wasn't worried. Using his other hand, he picked the surprised hero off the stage, all of the moving stone crashing down to the ground, ineffective.

"I wouldn't usually do that…" Silver dropped the shards, approaching the floating man. "But I wanted to play along with the fight, you know? I could've just picked you up at the start, but you guys wanted to see what I could do, so…"

Cementoss seemed satisfied with that answer. "I see. You are quite experienced with your quirk."

"That's a severe understatement!" A booming voice joined the conversation, Silver looking to the side and seeing All Might march his way over. "You are the definition of a prodigy, young Silver!" The insanely tall man examined his mid-air coworker. "Can you move at all, Cementoss?"

"I can't." Silver decided to release the teacher, returning him to his feet. "His quirk would be exceptional in combat, restraint, and rescue. Very well-rounded."

Silver was a bit embarrassed about all the flattery. "Thank you, sir!"

All Might patted his shoulder and started to guide him back over to the group, Cementoss following behind them after cleaning the stage. "You would be a great hero one day!" Silver wasn't going to correct him because he _already_ was one. "The students here would gain the experience to succeed with your help!"

Even though Silver wasn't a hundred percent sure about that, All Might's tone made him want to believe every word he said.

"That was pretty cool to watch, Silv!" Sonic commented with a smirk, liking that the other didn't get a scratch on him. "But you should've thrown him around more!"

"Are you ever going to let that go?"

Nezu stepped up to them, stopping the friendly bickering before it began. "You two are really surprising gifts to our high school. You're very talented in using your quirks, and I'm sure we haven't seen all of what you can do yet." The hedgehogs nodded, and the principal smiled. "Well, thank you Silver for coming out here. Like All Might said, you'd be perfect in assisting the students in their learning until we find a way to capture the warp villain."

Silver returned warmth. "I'll do my best, sir!"

"That's what I like to hear!" Nezu turned toward the exit of the arena. "Well, I've seen all that I've needed to, so I'll take my leave." Most of the other teachers had the same mindset, going to follow the principal out. However, that was until Sonic had an idea.

"Wait, Mrs. RG!" Sonic called out to the school nurse, and she gave him a questioning glance. "Do you have anythin' important to do right now?"

She thought for a moment. "Not really. Why do you ask?"

Sonic's lips curled upwards, itching to get his adrenaline pumping. "Could you stick around while Silver and I spar? Your quirk would be amazing if things got too rough!" More like _when._

Did Silver get any say in this? "Sparring? Aren't you going to ask _me_ about it first?"

The speedster sent him a sly look. "What? You're not up to it or somethin'? I'm disappointed in ya, Silver!"

"I'm not arguing against it!" Silver huffed. "I just thought it was weird you went to her first."

Sonic barked out a laugh. "Cuz I knew you'd agree!" He rose a brow at the greying woman. "So, what do ya say?"

RG hummed in thought. "Sure, I can stay for a bit, but my presence does _not_ mean you two can be reckless, understand?"

"Yes ma'am!" the two hedgehogs chorused.

"I find it interesting that you two ignore my existence." Aizawa deadpanned, clearly not amused. "Sonic, you were there when I told everyone that they should take this break to rest and recharge."

Sonic waved him off, snorting. "Pfft, rest. Sonic the Hedgehog doesn't need rest!"

"He's right." Silver nodded. "He doesn't."

"Just let them duke it out, Erasure!" Mic suggested with a knowing grin. "They'd tire themselves out, and you could probably sleep for the rest of the day!"

That actually seemed to catch Aizawa's attention, and Sonic was grateful that he seemed to like sleep more than he liked being strict. Aizawa eventually sighed. "Fine."

Sonic whooped. "Heck yeah! Let's go so I can kick your butt, Silv!"

Silver flew after him, equally as pumped. "As if! It's the other way around!"

"You wish!"

The pro heroes watched the hedgehogs position themselves on opposite sides of the stage.

Midnight frowned unsurely. "Do we _really_ think those two are part of the League of Villains?"

"I thought Sonic was just a regular kid during the festival!" Mic commented. "No hint of evil in him! And Silver seems even _less_ evil, if that's even possible!"

Aizawa crossed his arms. "There's always a chance. They have two quirks, are very powerful, and Sonic mentioned being warped. That's no coincidence."

All Might's smile had waned somewhat. "If there hadn't been that USJ incident, this wouldn't be so eye-catching, but…"

Nezu shallowly sighed, looking over at the scarfed man and nurse and disregarding the topic of conversation altogether. "We'll leave them to you two. Let them have their fun."

RG and Aizawa nodded, and the other heroes eventually filtered out.

The remaining adults shifted their gazes back to the spar just in time to see Sonic get slammed into a wall.

"It's no u-"

"Don't you _dare_ say it!"

Silver laughed until he was kicked in his side.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We kinda get to hear the teachers' opinions about this whole mess of a situation! They are so confused. It's great.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which internships are discussed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been forever, sorry! This chapter's super long...hopefully that makes up for it?
> 
> And I just want to thank everyone for all the support! I never thought this story would get this much recognition! Every kudos and review makes my day, no matter how long or short it is!

The feeling of something pawing at his side broke Silver from the hold of sleep, his eyes tiredly peeling open. He yawned, the urge to nod back off stronger than any of Sonic's kicks. However, he couldn't exactly do that with his side being prodded.

Silver blinked until he was awake enough to prop himself up on the blow-up mattress Aizawa was nice enough to let him use. Squinting in the darkness, he noticed that he wasn't the only one on the bed. Mittens was too, kneading the hedgehog's side.

Well, until he realized he was being watched. Mittens stopped his actions and meowed innocently like he hadn't done anything wrong. Silver guessed he should've been upset that he'd been woken up, but he couldn't be mad at that face.

With a tired smile, Silver reached out to pet the feline. "Hey…why are you up so-" Bright light suddenly burned his retinas, and the psychic groaned as he tried desperately to save his eyesight by burying his head in his arms.

"Morning." White ears twitched at the familiar gruff voice. Silver carefully peaked between his folded arms, eyes slowly adjusting to the brightness around him. Aizawa was standing at the entrance of the living room in his weird yellow sleeping bag thing. The teacher barely looked more awake than Silver was. "Time to get up and get ready. Wake Sonic while you're at it." Aizawa shuffled over to the hallway leading out of the room. "If you fall back asleep, I will pour water on you."

"Yes sir…" Silver groaned again as he sat all the way up, wiping any traces of sleep from his eyes. Aizawa nodded at him before leaving. The psychic yawned once more and eyed the cat stretching beside him. "You were in on this, weren't you?"

Mittens started licking his paw.

"I'll take that as a yes." Silver sighed, trying and failing to fix his wayward quills. He gave up after a couple seconds, turning his head to find Sonic splayed out on the sofa. He was snoring softly, basically dead to the world.

Silver _really_ wanted to join Sonic in dreamland, but he knew that it was time for school.

…Wow. He honestly never thought he'd be thinking that.

He knew this day have been coming, but still. They had been kinda occupied and distracted in the couple days leading up.

The spar he and Sonic had lasted longer than either of them two intended it to be. It just had been fun letting off some steam and jumping into something more familiar in this unknown crazy world of quirks.

Aizawa had ended up falling asleep against the walls of the stadium, and the hedgehog duo called it quits when their stomachs began to growl (and when Recovery Girl threatened to leave without healing their bruises).

They had left the stadium healed yet tired and hungry. Silver had been so tired that he didn't argue when Sonic claimed himself the overall winner even though they had equal amounts of wins and losses.

Aizawa fixed them dinner at the apartment against Sonic's wish for restaurant food – those two were really like night and day, seriously – and Silver had dropped as soon as the teacher prepared the blow-up mattress. He had been told that Recovery Girl's quirk drained their energy to speed up their healing processes. He couldn't argue that because he had slept like a _baby._

The next day had been informative, at least for Silver. He had watched a recording of the sports festival Sonic participated in, and Silver was basically speechless all the way through. It was one thing to be told about the quirks, but it was another to see them all in action.

And Silver was going to be in the same _school_ as all these students.

Okay, sure, it seemed like most of them were nice. However, Silver noticed a few people like Bakugo and Shinso he was a bit wary about. Sonic insisted that Shinso wasn't that bad and that the angry dandelion – Sonic's words, not his – had a bark worse than his bite.

Considering what Silver had seen on screen though, he had to see that for himself.

After that, Aizawa had shared some of the laws and rules and all the general things of this world that actually interested Silver. He didn't necessarily agree with all he heard, but it still grabbed his attention.

Sonic had been a different story though. He sat and chatted through the sports festival just fine, but his attention span seemed to reach its limit afterwards. Instead of listening to Aizawa, he played with Mittens, snooped around the whole apartment, and then began to complain that he was bored.

Aizawa had endured it for a while; he eventually cracked though. Silver had yet to meet someone who was completely immune to Sonic's boredom. The teacher called someone on his phone, and it wasn't long before Principal Nezu had shown up.

He and Sonic left for some place called Ground Gamma while Silver learned about pro heroes and why All Might was considered the best around.

They had dinner when Sonic came back happily exhausted, saying that U.A. was probably the best school he'd ever seen. He explained that Gamma was the perfect place to let loose, able to do as much running around/property damage as he pleased.

Silver had just wondered how much it was going to cost to replace everything.

The rest of the evening went by smoothly with Sonic surfing channels and with Silver learning more about the top five pros via magazines. Every time Endeavor was mentioned, Sonic rolled his eyes. Silver had asked him about it, but the speedster waved him off, telling him it wasn't important. Silver figured he just had a bad run-in in the flaming hero and let it go.

It wasn't long before Aizawa told them to go to bed, and after a snarky argument between the teacher and Sonic about unfair bedtimes, they did so.

And now it was time for school, and Silver hoped that his first day jitters weren't noticeable.

Taking a deep breath, the psychic got to his feet and stumbled toward a sleeping Sonic. "Hey," Silver began, placing a hand on the other's shoulder and shaking it. There was no response. Silver should've expected this. He shook harder. "Hey, Sonic, you gotta get up."

The blue hedgehog muttered quietly before lethargically swatting his hand away, rolling on his side. Silver was persistent. "Come on, wake up." He resumed his shaking. "Aizawa threatened to pour water on you."

Sonic pried open one questioning eye.

Silver nodded because he was sure the teacher wouldn't hesitate. "Seriously."

Sonic grumbled to himself, and Silver caught the words 'unfair', 'tired', and 'stupid sleeping bag' as he peeled his head from his pillow.

The speedster yawned widely. "This sucks."

Silver managed to stifle the contagious anomaly. "You can say that again."

Mittens mewed happily at their misfortune.

* * *

Sonic held out a hand as raindrops fell from the sky, splattering against his palm. "C'mon, teach. Can't we just cancel school for today? Even the sky's cryin', knowing that I'm about to be tortured with lessons!"

A paper-thin layer of cyan energy floated above the hedgehogs' heads, blocking the rain. Silver snickered even though he felt a little sympathetic. "You're reaching a _bit_ too far, Sonic."

Sonic knew he was, but he had been in the middle of an _amazing_ dream. He completely forgot what it had been about, but it was probably better than prematurely waking up and putting on a school uniform. And what made it worse was that Silver didn't even have to wear one; the guy just had regular clothes on. He wasn't wearing a bookbag either!

"Yeah, yeah…" He muttered before perking up as they approached the impressive U.A. high school. Sonic glanced around at all the students entering, waving at any curious onlookers. Education aside, it would be fun to met up with his friends again and to introduce Silver.

Silver saw the interested students as well, and his waves were not as confident as Sonic's. They hadn't gotten into the school yet, and it seemed like they were already the center of attention, Silver mostly.

Sonic grinned as the last remains of sleep faded away. It would be an interesting stay in this dimension, that's for sure.

"Hey, Mr. A." The blue hedgehog looked to his left and rose his brow at the teacher examining the thin shield over his head with a pensive frown. If he was this puzzled over a make-shift umbrella, oh _man_ _._ "Are we goin' straight to the classroom?" Sonic asked when he finally had the man's attention.

Aizawa glanced between Sonic and Silver, the latter curious about the answer as well. "You two are," he eventually said as the rain came down harder, words slightly muffled by his scarf. "I need to gather materials for class today."

"Cool." Sonic nudged Silver with his elbow, smirking. "That gives us some time to properly introduce ya, Silv!" Well, Class 1-A probably knew of the psychic because he was sure that either Deku or Kaminari had spilled the beans, but they didn't know of Silver's TA status. Not all was spoiled.

Silver stepped over a shallow puddle with a chuckle. "Even if we didn't have time, you'd find a way to make time."

"You know it!"

Aizawa didn't seem amused by this. "I won't tolerate any distractions in class. Special conditions or not, you two need to-"

"Follow the rules and all that jazz." Sonic waved him off. "Hear ya loud and clear, teach!"

Silver couldn't decide on being entertained or worried. "Do you want him to hate you, or…?"

The speedster smirked. "Deep down, I know that he appreciates me spicing up his life."

"I don't."

"He does."

Silver settled on entertained, unable to contain his smile.

* * *

Silver was almost overwhelmed as the pair of hedgehogs made their way to the classroom. He let Sonic take the lead as he absorbed the chatting students, the teachers, the different shapes and sizes of everyone and just…everything.

Aizawa had broken off from them a few minutes ago, and considering how Sonic perked up after they had turned a corner, they were close to their destination.

"Here we are!" Sonic chirped as he approached a large door with 1-A big and bold on it. "Ready to meet your students, Silv?"

Silver rolled his eyes as muffled voices filtered into the hall. "I don't really have a choice, do I?"

"Nope!" Sonic smirked as he lifted his hand to slide open the door, but he paused as he made out the conversation going on inside. He gestured for Silver to get closer, and they both pressed their ears to the surface.

"No way, Midoriya! You actually met him?" That was Kaminari's voice.

"Yeah! Silver's really nice, and his quirk is great too!"

"Is it as powerful as Sonic's?" Asui asked.

"Well…" Deku hesitated, and Sonic cockily smirked at Silver. "I haven't seen that much of it, but he flew here by himself, I say it has a lot of potential!" Silver sent the speedster a jeering look, and Sonic scoffed.

It was Ashido's turn next. "He can _fly?_ What quirk does he have?"

"He told me that it's telekinesis!"

Kirishima gasped. "Telekinesis? Like move things with your _mind_ telekinesis?"

Ashido groaned. "That's an awesome quirk! So unfair…"

"Awesome by _ass._ " Sonic rolled his eyes. Of course Kacchan had to say something. "I'd be able to blast that fucker away easily!"

Silver frowned at that, and Sonic decided it was time to show himself. He slid the door open so abruptly that he startled a few students inside and the psychic beside him.

All attention was on the hedgehogs, but Sonic was solely focused on the blonde sitting on the other side of the room. "Oh really, Dandy? You seriously think you can take my bro on? Cuz if you can't hit me in a fight, then you _definitely_ won't be able to touch him."

Bakugo bristled, his glare becoming molten as he sized the psychic up. "What, Potleaf over there?" Silver would be lying if he said he never heard that before. "He looks so frail that I could take him out in a heartbeat!"

Sonic chuckled as he walked into the classroom, an insulted Silver following after a moment. "Ya think so? Silv, give him a taste and throw him across the room."

Even though the idea seemed promising, Silver didn't want to make a negative name for himself, especially on the first day. "Wha – Sonic, I'm not doing that."

"Oh come _on._ "

"I'm not throwing him across the room!"

Sonic sighed even though he knew the other would be reluctant to go through with it. He gave Bakugo a mocking glance anyway, smirking. "Well, he could if he wanted to! Be lucky that he's nice!"

Kacchan derisively snorted, spitting, "You're nothing but _talk._ "

While Sonic planned on ways to destroy Dandy's pride – since the sports festival didn't do a good enough job – Silver glanced over to the rest of the surprised class, not wanting to give that bully the time of day.

He saw Deku and vaguely recognized the rest of the faces from the festival. Silver smiled and curtly waved as Sonic and Bakugo had an intense stare down. "Uh…hi," he greeted, unsure on what else to say.

There was a gasp, and a pink hair girl bounded up to him, her eyes sparkling. Her name was Ashido, if he remembered correctly. "Oh my gosh! You're like the most adorable thing I've ever seen!" Ashido squealed, and a blush dusted Silver's cheeks because that was the _last_ thing he had expected to hear.

He gaped like a fish before stuttering the first thing that came to mind, "Th-Thanks."

"Aw!" The invisible girl – her name completely slipped Silver's mind – cooed as she skipped over. "He's shy!"

Silver was completely speechless at this point, his voice failing him.

"Can you two please stop treating our guest like a stuffed animal?" The speedy guy with insane calves thankfully interrupted, approaching him and holding a hand out. "Hello, I'm Tenya Iida, Class 1-A representative, and I want to welcome you to our classroom!"

"Thank you…" Silver muttered as he struggled to regain his composure, the redness eventually fading away. "It's uh…great meeting you all!"

"I'm glad that you came to meet everyone!" Deku radiated excitement as he stepped forward, the two girls from before giggling to themselves at this point. "But, that can't be the only reason you're here, right? You would've waited until afterschool if that was the case…"

Sonic tossed his arm over Silver's shoulders, figuring that he and his 'brother' would eventually show Dandy what for later – and also tease the psychic about how flustered he got just now. "Funny that you ask! Well, my lil bro here-"

"Do you _have_ to emphasize that so much?" Silver grumbled under his breath.

Only Sonic heard, and he chuckled while ruffling the other's head quills. "-is gonna be attending this school for a while!"

There was a resounding "What?!" that echoed around the classroom.

"Is he joining our class too?" Deku's eyes were wide, snapping between the two hedgehogs.

Sonic linked his fingers behind his head as Silver fixed his quills grumpily. "Not quite! So long story short, Silv showed off in front of a few teachers here and Nezu, and they decided that he become a TA here! That's cool or what?"

"A TA?" Iida scratched his chin in thought, his brow furrowed. "As in a teacher's assistant?"

Silver rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly when flabbergasted stares landed on him. "Yeah… Apparently the teachers think that my quirk will help you guys train, or something?"

"But it's so great that the teachers and the _principal_ let you in just like _that?_ " Uraraka emphasized her words with a snap, completely baffled. "How strong are you?!"

A chair harshly scrapped against the floor. "The teachers recommending him doesn't mean shit!" Bakugo barked out, his palms already smoking. Sonic inwardly smirked as he slightly stepped to the side, out of Silver's way. Yeah, Silver wouldn't attack unprovoked, but counterattacks were his thing. Kacchan gritted his teeth. "For all we know, they picked Potleaf because he's an easy punching bag!" He leaned forward, obviously about to pounce. "I'll prove it to – hah?"

Bakugo was suddenly lifted into the air, surrounded with a cyan aura. It was clear that he tried to shake out of the force levitating him, but it was all for naught.

The class went quiet as Silver guided a snarling dandelion back to his seat, making Bakugo clasp his dangerous hands together in the process.

Silver debated letting the student go, but he had a strong feeling that Bakugo would just launch again. "I learned about you watching the sports festival…you're not very nice."

Sonic snickered as Kacchan spat out curses that put sailors to shame. "Understatement of the century! But yeah Dandy, he's a _complete_ push-over, huh?"

The blonde cried out in rage, still frozen.

Asui was the first of the class to speak up. "I think that answers your question, Ochaco. I'd say he's pretty strong, ribbit."

Midoriya was scribbling something in that notebook of his, and Kaminari lowly groaned. "It's almost not fair that you two have such awesome quirks!"

Sero whistled, impressed, as he grinned over at the captured blonde. "I'm not even mad, you know. There will be a lot less property damage this way."

"Do you want to fucking _die_ , Scotch Tape?!"

Ignoring him, Silver humbly uttered, "It's not all that…" His gaze roamed the room, recalling the events of the festival. "All your powers, uh, quirks are cool too!"

Sonic nodded with a grin. "I've been tellin' them all that!"

"But still…" Uraraka looked the mix of awestruck and insecure. "Like, yours and mine are kinda similar, but I have to touch person I want to float, and I can't even control them! How can anyone win a fight with you?"

"If he lets me _go_ , I can kick his _ass-"_

Sonic scoffed at the brunette. "Oh, it's possible! I've done it plenty of times!"

"I wouldn't say plenty…"

Any other conversation was cut short by a familiar gruff drawl. "Morning."

Silver's breath hitched as he hastily withdrew his powers, giving Bakugo control of his body again. He whipped his head over to the entrance of the room. Aizawa was standing there, expression as unenthused as usual.

"Good morning, Mr. Aizawa!" the students greeted back as they scrambled to their assigned seats.

Sonic and Silver stayed in front of the class, the former chirping, "It's about time, teach! Got what ya needed?"

Aizawa sighed in exasperation as he shuffled over to his podium. "Yes, I did." The man then gestured to the far end of the room. "Sonic, there's a desk for you behind Todoroki. Go take your seat."

"All the way in the back?" Did Aizawa _want_ Sonic to go to sleep in class? "If you say so, Mr. A!"

Sonic felt the sharp gaze on his back as he went down the row, grinning at Roki as he passed him. "Guess we're neighbors, huh?" he asked when Asui questioned Aizawa's healed status.

Todoroki nodded at him. "Seems so."

Silver watched as Sonic plopped down in his seat, feeling a bit strange. He just couldn't believe that he was up here with a teacher standing in front of a bunch of students, but if this was where the principal wanted him to be, then…

He gave his attention to Aizawa when he started talking. "Anyway, as you can see, we have a new face to the classroom. I'm sure you've already been introduced." Silver fought hard to disregard the heated glare coming from a specific blonde. "Silver is here to assist us teachers and to help you all improve your quirks with his own. He's a surprise addition, I know, but be civil and treat him kindly."

"Yes sir!"

For the couple of days he'd been here, Silver had learned something new about Aizawa. Yeah, the man was strict, but he was nice in his own way – when Sonic wasn't trying to rile him up (which was rare).

"Moving on." Aizawa scanned the apt students. "We have a big class today on hero informatics."

The way the class as a whole seemed to inwardly panic wasn't lost on Silver. The clueless psychic met Sonic's eyes, and the speedster subtly shrugged. They were both lost on what exactly 'hero informatics' was.

After a pregnant pause, Aizawa uttered, "You need codenames. Time to pick your hero identities."

Silver couldn't hide his wince when the students yelled in relief, white ears flattening against his head. What was going on? And how stressful was the hero course if they were getting excited over _code names?_

The teacher activated his quirk to calm them all down and then proceeded to explain drafts and pro hero agencies.

While Silver intensely listened, Sonic tuned everything out because unfortunately, this didn't apply to him. He couldn't play with the pros, and Aizawa _still_ hadn't told him what he needed help with.

Though, he did perk up when the totals of offers showed up on a screen. Sonic smirked when a whopping six thousand appeared by his name, followed by four thousand by Todoroki. Third place was Bakugo, but there was a huge drop, him only getting five hundred.

The rest of the list finished, and Sonic was surprised to see that Deku wasn't on the board. Though, it kinda made sense, considering the Monoma incident.

"In past years it's been more spread out," Aizawa explained. "But there's a pretty big gap this time."

While some students complained, Sonic reached up and gave Todoroki a celebratory nudge. "Whoa, look at you, Mr. Four thousand! Everyone's got their eyes on ya!"

Roki peered back him for a split second. "The numbers are probably influenced by my father."

Sonic scoffed. "As if! It's all you! The people saw your ice and your water, _not_ your fiery old man." Blue and grey eyes met Sonic's once more, and he gave him a reassuring grin. Todoroki was pensive when he faced forward.

"It's hard to believe that third place got so little."

"Is it _that_ surprising?" Sero looked at Jiro. "I mean, Bakugo was practically frothing at the mouth."

If looks could kill, Sero would be a pile of ashes. "If I scared a pro, they're just weak!"

Sonic snorted, raising his voice so Dandy could hear. "Or they just have common sense, bud!"

Bakugo whirled around, and Silver deadpanned, concluding that this guy's personality was worse than Shadow's and Knuckles' combined. "You wanna fight me, Roadkill?"

Sonic was smug. "Anytime, anywhere, Dandy! I could go for a round two! It'd be a nice warm-up!"

Before Bakugo could explode Aizawa cleared his throat. "Settle down." Bakugo looked so tense as he followed orders, veins popping, and Silver was going to have to talk to Sonic about stopping his teasing. The blonde was a pain, but no one deserved an aneurysm.

"Despite these results, you all will be interning with pros." Aizawa resumed, Sonic slumping in his seat because it was a horrible, horrible lie.

As the teacher went on to talk about the internships and then the need for code names. Midnight eventually strolled into the room, taking over the segment while Aizawa zipped inside of his yellow sleeping bag and got comfortable on the floor.

After the spiel about how important the names were, Midnight ducked behind the podium and pulled out white boards and markers. She smiled and held them out for Silver. "Mind giving these to everyone?"

"Sure!" The psychic mentally grabbed the objects and easily spread them around the room so that every student got one of each.

Kirishima uncapped the marker. " _Dude_ , your quirk would be the _best_ for when you sit down to watch TV and the remote is on the other side of the room."

"Honestly, that's probably what I use it the most for." Silver chuckled. Well, that and turning off/on lights. Being a lazy boy with psychic powers was the best.

A silence settled over the students as they thought, but it didn't last as long as it probably should have.

"Hey, Ms. M!" Sonic rose a hand, and when Midnight looked at him, he asked, "Are we sharing these?" They wouldn't be writing their names on an erasable white board if they weren't.

Midnight seemed impressed. "Quick on the draw, aren't you? Yes, the whole class will be presenting their names."

Surprised whispers filled the room, and Sonic figured he'd help clear some of the nervousness. He hopped out of his seat, writing his name as he walked to the front. "Cool! Well, I got one ready!"

Midnight blinked. "Already?"

"Yep!" Sonic exclaimed before jumping on top of the podium, holding up his name. "Has a nice ring to it, don't ya think?"

Midnight read the board. "Blue Blur?" Then she brightened. "It suits you perfectly! Given your confidence, you've been thinking about this for a while?"

Sonic smirked as he hopped down. "Yeah, you can say that!" More like he'd been given that awesome name by many of his adoring fans, but close enough.

"It's practical yet simple…" Midoriya whispered, relaxing along with the rest of the students. Silver cocked a brow when Deku's gaze found him. "What about you, Silver? Have you thought of a hero name yet?"

Midnight clasped her hands together. "Oh yes, share with the class!"

Silver laughed nervously, unexpectedly being put on the spot. "Um…I actually haven't thought of one yet…" As in, he honestly hadn't been known by anything else other than Silver. Spending most of his life in a bleak future probably was the cause of that.

Sonic snickered. "How about Iblis Triggered? Or if that's a mouthful, just Triggered should do the trick."

Silver groaned, exhaling deeply. "Sonic, you're seriously the worst." If there hadn't been a teacher watching, he most likely would have taken the board and smacked the speedster with it.

Sonic barked out a laugh as he returned to his seat, and Silver waved off the confused looks. "It's…an inside joke. Don't worry about it."

The onlookers went back to brainstorming, and Sonic relaxed when he plopped down in his chair.

Minutes passed, and Midnight asked for anymore volunteers. One by one students went up, and the names were on the spectrum from Can't Stop Twinkling and Grapejuice to Shoto and Tenya.

Sonic was a little upset the Roki didn't call himself Freezer Burn or heck, even IcyHot – he had to admit it was hilarious and unironically fitting – but Iida…it was clear that something had been off about his little presentation.

He remembered that Iida had to go home during the festival because of family reasons; Sonic hoped everything was alright.

On a lighter note though, Sonic felt a proud of Midoriya naming himself Deku. He didn't fully understand the whole speech probably because he was new and had missed some stuff in the past, but still. He was impressed.

Aizawa woke up after all the names were done, and now he was jabbering about internships and them lasting all week and stuff Sonic was too bummed about to listen to.

It wasn't long before the teachers and Silver began passing out papers, the adults helping because Silver needed a bit of help in the name department.

Once Sonic got his, he noticed that it was multiple papers stapled together. It was too bad that he didn't get to pick any of these agencies, but it didn't hurt to browse.

Sonic hummed to himself as he looked it over, all of the pros sounding pretty cool in their own way. However, one agency made him pause and snicker because of the absurdity of it.

One of the lines read: Endeavor Hero Agency.

Sonic _had_ to share this. He leaned forward, holding his paper out. "Getta load of this, Roki." Curious, Todoroki glanced away from his list to eye Sonics. "Look right here! Your dad's seriously crazy if he thinks he's gettin' me."

Todoroki's eyebrows pinched together, lips thinning. "I wouldn't be surprised if he wanted you just so he could learn all of your tricks." He then held his paper up to Sonic could see, pointing at the same line Sonic had. "And so he could teach me to counter them all."

The blue hedgehog rolled his eyes. "Pfft. He's got jokes! Well, I know he's your dad and all, but don't you want to take a breather away from him? And working on your sprinkler powers will be a plus!"

Sonic didn't know if Roki understood jokes or not because he completely ignored it, instead saying, "That might be the case, but he still is the number two hero. Experience is experience, no matter who it's from."

Sonic sighed and shrugged. "I can't decide for ya, pal. I'm just saying that I wouldn't do it. You're being your own person by not using his flames, and well, what's the deference between shadowing the number two hero and the number three hero, really?"

A slight frown was Sonic's only answer, Todoroki giving the paper his full attention again.

In the front, Silver stood with Mr. Aizawa and Midnight as conversations sprouted. The psychic had noticed Sonic talking with Todoroki, and he also caught Midoriya subtly glancing over his shoulder with a slight frown on his face. Before Silver could make heads or tails of that, Aizawa spoke up over the noise.

"Turn in your choices before the weekend," he drawled as he and Midnight went for the door.

"We've only got two days?" The shock was clear in Kirishima's voice.

Aizawa peered back. "Yeah, so you should start now. You're dismissed." He slid the door shut behind them.

The class erupted into louder chatter about their internships, and Silver decided to go talk with Sonic so he wouldn't be awkwardly standing by himself. However, a voice stopped him.

"Psst. Hey, over here!"

Silver blinked before searching for the owner of the whispering voice. It belong to Kaminari, who was beckoning him over. Not wanting to seem rude, Silver approached him, curious.

When the psychic reached Kaminari's desk, the blonde leaned closer and whispered, "Okay, I know that it's your first day and I don't want to come off as desperate, but…" He looked around sneakily before continuing, "Can you _please_ set me up with one of the girls here. I'm begging you."

"I…" Silver really wished that his fur wasn't so lightly colored, his blush as bright as day. "W-What? I can't-"

"Sure you can!" Kaminari smiled before clasping his hands together. "Look, I'll give you _anything_ to do this for me."

"To do what for you?"

Both Silver and Kaminari glanced over to see Sonic standing there with a knowing grin on his muzzle. Silver was relieved to get out of that strange situation, and the blonde laughed a little too loudly. "Nothing! Nothing really. Can't I just have a friendly convo with your bro?"

The speedster scoffed before asking, "He's tryin' to get you to set him up with a girl, right?"

All conversation in the room died out, Sonic's words being loud enough for all to hear.

Silver looked all around before lingering on Kaminari, who was hiding his head in his arms. He allowed a small smile. "Yeah."

The blonde released a low whine.

Jiro snorted. "Seriously, Kaminari? That's a low blow, even for you."

"Yeah!" Ashido huffed. "We don't want to run away our new friend on the first day!"

Before Sonic could embarrass the electric boy even more by mentioning that Silver wasn't the first one Kaminari had asked, the room door slid open.

Present Mic bounded inside and shouted, "Who's ready for some adjective and adverb action today?!"

All fun was sucked out of Sonic's system, and Silver believed that going deaf might be a real danger.

* * *

Lunch didn't come fast enough.

The class itself wasn't bad. Sonic was pretty fluent in English – gotta thank his international status – so the subject wasn't hard for him.

The problem had been staying awake. Despite Mic's loud voice, sleep had dragged Sonic under multiple times. And unfortunately for the class, and Silver especially because he was basically at Mic's side, the teacher had to yell even louder to wake him up.

That only worked a couple times though, and Silver eventually ended up standing beside him, sneakily playing tic-tac-toe on a paper on Sonic's desk. Not having to use his hands to draw O's really saved them from going deaf.

However, the only thing that chased away their tiredness was the smell of delicious food.

"This place is so huge!" Silver exclaimed as he took in the lively cafeteria. He knew that the school was big, but _wow._

"With an even larger selection of choices to choose from!" Sonic couldn't wait to sooth his empty stomach. However, he had to do something first. The speedster peered over his shoulder to see Kaminari and his posse walking over to the trays. With a smirk, Sonic zoomed over to the blonde and held out a hand. "Ahem."

Kaminari slumped as he dug into his pocket and pulled out enough money to cover for lunch. "And I hoped you forgot about it…"

Sonic snickered. "Just remember, you started it, bud!" He waved at the group before meeting back up with a confused Silver.

The psychic didn't know what he just saw. "Did you steal his lunch money?"

"Nope, what do you take me for?" Sonic chuckled and waved the money around. "He lost a bet, that's it!"

Silver's brow creased. "But aren't our lunches covered by Nezu?" Aizawa had told them this morning that the principal was nice enough to do them that favor.

"Yeah, but not the snacks from the vending machines!" Sonic's eyes sparkled. "They have _candy_ in there."

"I suddenly don't mind you taking that money."

"Didn't think you would!"

Silver's attention shifted to all of the options available. "I don't even know where to start…"

"I do!" Sonic had his heart set on his favorite food. "They have chili dogs here!"

When Silver looked unsure about that, the speedster gestured all around. "They have plenty of other foods to choose from! We can split up and meet later to get a table!"

The white hedgehog nodded. "Sounds good!" They split from each other, and Silver went around searching for what he should try until he came across tasty looking sushi. He grabbed a tray and got in line, getting his lunch of choice within five minutes.

Ready to chow down, Silver went around searching for Sonic. He had half the mind to use his powers to float, but since no one else was using their quirks, then he guessed that he shouldn't either.

However, he quickly learned that he should probably keep his eyes focused in front of him when he ran right into someone. Silver managed to keep his grip on his tray, but he saw another falling to the ground.

With his fine-tuned reflexes, Silver mentally caught the tray and all of its contents mid-air. He smiled in relief as he placed the bowl of noodles and a glass of water back on the floating tray.

Silver then met the gaze of the one he ran into, and he resisted the urge to back away slowly. It was a blonde with cloudy gray eyes examining him, glaring with all the hate in the world. It wasn't until Silver saw the arm tucked in a sling that he made the connection that this was the first boy Deku had fought during the festival: Monoma.

This look was different from Bakugo's. Bakugo was just full of aimless rage, but Silver was sure that Monoma knew who he was 'related' to and who Sonic was friends with.

Silver swallowed thickly and lifted the tray of food up higher, rushing out, "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to-"

Monoma yanked the item out of Silver's mental hold, his words cold. "And you expect me to forgive you, right? Because it was an accident?" Silver didn't answer because he had an inkling that anything he said would make the situation worse. "I almost lost my arm in an _accident_ , so just-"

"Monoma!"

"Silver!"

The blonde was cut off when a red-headed girl jogged over to them, her worried stare switching between the two. Midoriya was approaching as well, equally as concerned.

The girl managed a friendly smile. "I'm sorry for anything he might've said. He's going through a lot." She gestured to herself. "I'm Kendo by the way."

"Nice to meet you…I'm Silver." Silver's smile wasn't as strong, and Kendo took Monoma by his working elbow.

"Let's just go, Monoma." The blonde didn't move at first, all of his coldness directed at the tense Midoriya now. However, after an insistent tug from Kendo, he eventually walked away with her.

Silver stood in silence was the pair left until Deku's wobbly voice met his ears. "I'm…I'm sorry that you of all people had to…" The psychic faced Midoriya, and he was biting his lip. "It's not your fault at all, and…"

Silver had to shake what just happened off because he'd seen the footage and how Midoriya badly broke apart when he'd hurt Monoma. He softened his expression, hating that he had inadvertently dug up that memory. "I mean, I _did_ run into him. If I had watched where I had been going, then-"

"I know, but…" Deku took a deep breath to steady himself. "I just wish that you hadn't been the one to run into him, that's all."

"Yeah, but it's in the past, right?" Silver made his voice lighter. "It was just unexpected. I'm alright, really."

Midoriya nodded after a thoughtful pause. "Okay." His gaze swept the immediate area. "I'm guessing that you were looking for Sonic, right?" When Silver communicated a yes, Deku said, "I don't see him…but you're welcome to sit with us! You don't want to waste lunch wondering around."

Silver saw his logic, and he knew Sonic wouldn't be too mad. "Sure, lead the way!"

Midoriya's table wasn't too far away, it already occupied with Uraraka, Asui, and Iida. Silver waved in greeting as he and Deku slid into the booth, the psychic settling beside the brunette.

"What happened?" Uraraka asked, the green-haired boy. "Why did you run off like that, Deku?"

Midoriya took a bite of his lunch. "I saw Silver with Monoma, and I just wanted to make sure everything was okay."

The ones at the table shared an understanding yet concerned glance.

Uraraka switched to Silver, who was about to please his rumbling stomach. "Did he say anything mean to you?"

"It…wasn't anything too bad," he answered, not wanting to throw things out of proportion. "I accidentally ran into him. Anyone would've been upset."

"That's true, ribbit." Asui slurped some soup. "Did he say something to you, Midoriya?"

Deku shook his head, it was obvious that he was keeping his emotions in check. "No, one of his classmates lead him away before he had a chance to."

Iida nodded, though it seemed like he was only half-listening to the conversation. "It was good that the situation had been defused. We don't want to give the teachers any reason to regret bringing you in, Silver!"

"Right," he agreed around the goodness in his mouth.

The students then steered away from that topic, making small talk about safer subjects. Silver stayed quiet for the most part, listening about school life, but after a while, the way Midoriya was looking off to the side caused him to question, "Is something wrong?"

Deku startled a bit, smiling at him. "Oh! It's nothing! I was just spacing out. Sorry!" However, he suddenly stood up. Uraraka and Asui paused their conversation, and Iida rose a silent brow at the student. "I'll be back in a bit!"

Before anyone could ask, he ran off.

* * *

With a plate loaded with chili dogs, Sonic sighed in bliss. Unfortunately, he couldn't appreciate the perfection just yet because he had to find his so-called brother who had seemingly disappeared.

The place was pretty big, so Sonic couldn't be too shocked. And the hordes of students mingling around the place didn't help things either. Sonic wasn't worried at all; either Silver was looking around too, or he was chowing down with one of his numerous classmates. He couldn't blame Silver if he chose the second option. Food held a lot of priority.

Sonic tapped his foot as he searched around, unable to spot those crazy quills anywhere. He pursed his lips, perking up when he spotted a specific someone. It wasn't Silver but rather an indecisive hot/cold teen.

"Sup, Roki!" Sonic called out as he closed the distance between them. Todoroki found him immediately, and the hedgehog grinned. "Looking for someone to sit with?"

"Not necessarily," he replied. His tone wasn't antagonistic, just an even response.

Sonic took that as a yes. "Lookin' for a table, then! Well, I am too, so let's look for one together!" Todoroki didn't answer, but he didn't walk away either. Sonic assumed that was a 'okay'. He hoped he was understanding this new Todoroki language well enough.

The speedster walked ahead, looking for empty seats. "Oh, and tell me if you spot Silver, 'kay? Kinda lost him in this mess."

"I'll keep an eye out."

"Thanks!" Sonic chirped. They went on for a couple minutes, coming up empty, but then Sonic found something promising. It wasn't a completely free table, but with only person occupying it, it was basically up for grabs.

"Got us a table!" Sonic threw over his shoulder as he aimed for it, hoping that the other stayed behind him. He didn't want to lose yet another person, and he desired to get this Todoroki/Shinso drama straightened out. He'd let it rest for too long.

It didn't take long for Shinso to see them coming. Sonic beamed at him as he reached the table. "Hey, Shinso! Savin' these seats for anyone?"

The brainwasher was too busy chewing to give a proper answer. He gave an unreadable look to Todoroki before shaking his head.

"Awesome!" Sonic took the seat in front of Shinso, and it took a couple of moments until Roki claimed the chair to the hedgehog's left.

The speedster bit his chili dog, not oblivious to the tense atmosphere that covered the table. Sonic was going to break it one way or another. "So," he started after swallowing. "How was you're mini break, Shinso? Caught some zzz's?"

The brainwasher snorted as he sipped his water. "You're really going all out for this apology. I'm sorta impressed."

Todoroki, who had been absently eating his soba, looked up in muted interest.

"I mean, yeah!" Sonic kicked his feet, them not touching the floor. "I'm pretty stubborn when I need to be, and is one sorry too much to ask?" Especially since Shinso had been _completely_ wrong in his assumptions.

Shinso shrugged, picking at his lunch at this point. "It hadn't been anything personal."

"Nothing personal to you maybe!" Sonic huffed, ignoring his meal for a moment. "C'mon, you were the _target_ of how Roki reacted!"

Shinso rose a brow, a smirk growing. "Roki? You're at the nickname stage of friendship now?"

Sonic would throw a chili dog if he didn't think that was wasteful and a borderline crime. He instead turned to the silent Todoroki. "Can't you talk to him about it?"

"There's nothing to talk about."

"See?" Shinso bobbed his head at the dual-colored boy, smirk growing. "Simple and easy, just like that."

"You're both impossible." Sonic grumbled as he tapped his fingers on the table. "Roki, so you're sayin' that what he said didn't affect you at _all?_ And you don't want to clear at least _something_ up?"

"No." Todoroki's voice held no inflection as he enjoyed his meal. "It was all in the moment. It won't happen again, so there's no need to explain anything."

Sonic wanted to throw something at him too. He roughly bit into his chili dog, jabbing a finger in Shinso's direction. "He _will_ get that sorry."

"He's not asking for it."

Sonic whirled on Todoroki. "You _will_ ask for that sorry."

"I don't need it."

Sonic opened and closed his mouth before sulking, the only thing good about this being the party his taste buds were having.

Those two won this round, but someday. _Someday._

Deeming Mission Apology a failure at the moment, Sonic traded sleep-related quips with Shinso to pass the time, Todoroki eating his noodles in peace.

When Midoriya walked over a few minutes later, Shinso was in the middle of telling the story of easily pulling two all-nighters in a row without one drop of coffee.

Sonic didn't get the chance to tell him how unhealthy (and honestly impressive) that was. The newcomer immediately gained his attention. Sonic smiled. "Hi, Deku! What brings you over?"

There was definitely something on Midoriya's mind. "I just wanted to say that Silver's sitting with me if you were looking for him, and well, I want to talk with you and Todoroki, if that's okay?"

"Uh." Sonic leaned back in his chair. "What about? Everything alright?"

"Yeah, everything's fine!" Deku shook his hands. "It's nothing serious."

"You can take my seat," Shinso said, rising from his chair and picking up his tray. "I'm going to try to get a little nap before class starts again. See you later, Sonic." He nodded at IcyHot. "Roki."

He said it in a slightly mocking tone, and _nothing personal my butt._

Midoriya seemed confused for a second before sitting down where the brainwasher had been. He exhaled before uttering, "I…overheard your conversation before in class." Sonic tiled his head, and his neighbor's eyes marginally narrowed. Deku made everything clear when he focused on Todoroki, adding, "I think it was about…your father."

Todoroki subtly stiffened.

Sonic didn't bother to hide how he froze.

_Oh boy._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Concerned Midoriya is concerned.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Silver shows off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! I finally managed to get this one done! Forgive any typos you might see. I hastily edited this so I could get it out as soon as possible, since y’all have been waiting for forever.
> 
> Sorry for the slower updates, but my schedule has gotten really packed. Don’t worry though! I’m finishing this story no matter what! 
> 
> Now, let’s see how this conversation will go…

Sonic knew that he probably should learn to be subtler in delicate situations like this, but can you really blame him for freezing like a deer in headlights? Midoriya came out of _nowhere_ with that metaphorical speeding car.

The azure hedgehog shifted in his seat and glimpsed at his heterochromatic neighbor. Disregarding his stiff stature, Todoroki showed no visible reaction. His expression was unreadable as he gazed forward.

Well, if Roki wanted to chime in with anything, now was the time. A couple of awkward seconds passed in silence, and Sonic took that as his cue.

"Come on, Deku, eavesdropping?" Sonic waggled a teasing finger at him. "What, were those pro heroes too boring for ya?" Midoriya opened his mouth to hastily refute the claim, but Sonic cut him off before he had a chance. "And plus, you heard us all wrong! We are talking about uh…"

His brain stuttered a bit, and Midoriya used the pause to his advantage. "Look, I know that I might be overstepping my boundaries, but…" Deku fidgeted with his fingers on the table. "I just want to get this off my chest. Your situation-"

"That you know nothing about."

Midoriya swallowed thickly and dropped his gaze at Roki's statement. Sonic couldn't blame him. The words by themselves were innocent enough, but there was a sharp bite to them that made it clear that this topic of choice wasn't welcomed.

Sonic wished that Deku took the hint and changed the subject.

Deku did not change the subject.

The freckled boy seemed to steel himself, peering back up at the aloof Todoroki with cautious eyes. "I…You're right. I don't know the whole story, and you don't have to tell me anything. I'm just concerned about what I've put together so far."

His only reply was the narrowing of Todoroki's cool stare. Sonic saw this and mouthed, "Be careful," to Midoriya because he seemed determined to bring something to light, and while Sonic was understandably curious now, he knew there was a possibility that Midoriya could be turned into an icicle in a quick second.

Deku curtly nodded at him, taking a deep breath. "I think I heard that you didn't want to work with Endeavor and…want to avoid your fire side altogether." He received no affirmation, Sonic sitting on the sidelines as a silent referee and Todoroki sticking to his strong, silent type trope. Midoriya bit his lip, obviously thinking about his next words, before asking, "Do you really think that's a good idea?"

Sonic tilted his head at that, wondering where Midoriya was going with this and hoping this wasn't another Shinso situation where misunderstandings where thrown around.

There was more silence, and Deku marched on, lowering his voice even though no one else in the cafeteria was paying attention to them. "I have a guess that…he's the reason why you don't want your fire." Roki stiffened more at that, and Sonic sucked in a quiet breath, hoping the other didn't dive too deep in that subject.

Their reactions must have tipped Midoriya off, because he waved his hands in front of him. "I'm not here to talk about that, though! I just don't want you to give up on your fire, that's all."

Sonic furrowed his brow at that. He had a feeling that Deku would change his opinion if he knew the whole story. He hadn't met Endeavor face-to-face.

"Why does it matter to you what I do?" Todoroki asked with no inflection, leaning back in his chair and leaving the little soba in his bowl untouched. "None of this is your business."

"I know, but I can't help it-" A sad smile grew on Deku's face, throwing Sonic for a loop. "-because I think we all can agree that quirks are amazing." Sonic supported that statement one hundred percent. "They're powerful, unique, and – and not guaranteed, you know?" The quiet voice crack wasn't lost on Sonic, and apparently Roki caught it as well, a crease forming between his eyebrows.

Midoriya went on. "They're special; something to be cherished. And Todoroki, the fact that you have not one, but technically _three_ quirks is outstanding!" His eyes were glistening with many emotions. "I probably sound like a broken record, but you shouldn't sell yourself short-"

"Is All Might putting you up to this?" Todoroki interrupted him, temporarily silencing Deku. Sonic would say that the question was completely random, but then the pro hero's words to Roki from the festival popped in his head. Even though Sonic was pretty sure that this was all Midoriya, the closeness between him and All Might left him questioning as well.

Deku blinked owlishly. "What?" He shook his head vehemently. "No no no! He's not-"

"Because you two are together frequently, and it's clear that you've got him in your corner helping you out," Todoroki stated, and now it was Midoriya's turn to tense up.

He rubbed the back of his neck, stuttering, "U-Um, kind of, but that's…he didn't tell me to convince you of anything!" His tone gained more confidence. "I simply want the best for my classmates."

Todoroki stared at him for the longest before uttering, "I don't need my fire side."

Sonic couldn't keep in his laugh. "Especially now!" He grinned. "I mean, you _felt_ the force his water, bud!"

Midoriya reached up to feel the place where his head smacked against the concrete wall. "Yeah, I did, and I'm not saying it's not insanely powerful. I just want to get across that the best heroes push themselves to the limit and give their all." Sonic couldn't argue that. "Don't you want to be the best hero you can be, Todoroki?"

There was silence again, but this was different from the times before.

Todoroki broke eye contact for the first time, a frown pulling his lips as he stared absently at the table top. It was a shame that Sonic – or anyone in his class – wasn't a mind reader, for he'd pay anything to see what was happening in that boy's mind.

Was he actually considering Midoriya's words? Granted, Deku made a compelling argument, but if using the fire brought up bad memories or experiences, then things could go horribly wrong…especially in a fight against a real villain.

Maybe Todoroki could work on his flames after he separated himself from his old man, but now definitely wasn't a good time.

And plus, if they let Endeavor gain the satisfaction of seeing Todoroki's fire, he would certainly take that as a win. They absolutely could _not_ let that man be rewarded for his violent actions.

Deku's voice softened, oblivious to Sonic's musings. "I know the fire probably reminds you of him…or what he did, but it's a part of you. It's _yours_ , okay? Don't let him take it away from you."

Todoroki didn't lift his gaze from the table, and Sonic pursed his lips in thought. "But think about it, Roki." His words gained the attention of both boys. "You'll just be giving him what he wants, and we really don't need to stroke his ego even higher. You can do whatever you want, but I'm just saying."

Midoriya didn't seem to like what he said, arguing, "It's not right to limit his potential like that, though…"

"I'm not saying for him to limit himself, but to-" Sonic swung his legs back and forth, leaning forward on his elbows. He had to stop himself, finding it hard to deliver his point without sharing what he wasn't supposed to know. "I get what you're getting at, Deku, but you don't know the whole story. My side would make more sense-"

"You don't know the whole story either."

Well that stopped Sonic in his tracks. "Huh?" he asked intelligently, staring at Todoroki like he'd spoken another language.

Roki inaudibly sighed and stood up, collecting his tray. "Lunch is almost over. We should start heading back to class." He didn't wait for any response, turning his back and walking away.

Sonic thought about running after him, but he figured that Todoroki was done with the conversation altogether. He hummed to himself, tapping his fingers on the table. "I guess it's best to let him decide for himself, huh?"

Midoriya heavily exhaled. "Yeah, we should give him some time alone." He then relaxed in his chair once the taller boy was out of sight. "Whew, how are you so used to that cold stare, Sonic? Isn't it a bit unnerving?"

Sonic chuckled. "Nah." Glares were ineffective on him at this point. "Just don't let it get to ya."

Deku nodded with a pensive expression. Sonic didn't question it as they turned in their trays.

* * *

"So…what was all of that about?"

Silver gave in to his curiosity as he bit into a sweet chocolate candy bar, his taste buds celebrating the taste. Sonic was debating which sugary treat he wanted, eyeing the goods inside of the vending machine.

"Let's just say that Todoroki's got some family problems." Sonic went for the chocolate covered wafers, pulling them out of the machine and opening the wrapper.

Silver did not expect that. "Really?"

"Yeah, and I'm telling him one thing-" Sonic broke off one piece and tossed it in his mouth. "-and Deku's telling him another."

Silver didn't know about this. "I mean, should you get involved at all? Deku has known Todoroki for longer."

"I'm Sonic the Hedgehog!" The speedster smirked, gesturing to himself. "When do I ever turn a blind eye to someone who needs help?"

Silver should have seen that coming. "…Touché, but I'm just saying that you've known him for what, a few days?" That wasn't nearly enough time to know someone enough to dive deep into their personal lives. "Deku has had the whole school year with him!"

"Can you stop making sense for a sec and get Kaminari some gummy worms?" Silver snorted in amusement before using his powers to lower a bag of the candy down to the latch. Sonic grabbed it, explaining, "Roki didn't seem to be too friendly with anyone else, so I wanted to get to know him and help break down those walls!"

"Yeah…you are good at that," Silver couldn't help but to admit. Sonic could probably become friends with anyone; he was _that_ kind-hearted…and stubborn.

"Can't really talk about it too much though, so how was lunch for you?"

Silver understood the secrecy, so he rolled with the subject change. He took another bite of his chocolate. "It was good, mostly." Sonic rose a brow at him, and he elaborated, "Well, I ran into Monoma…literally."

Sonic's eyes widened. "He's back?" Silver nodded somberly, causing the speedster to follow up with a hesitant, "How is he?"

That stormy grey glare popped up in Silver's mind again. "His arm is in a sling. He almost lost it."

Sonic released a heavy breath. "Whoa, that's… I might say hi to him on the way to class."

Silver shook his head, because that was the worst thing he could do right now. "He probably-" Most likely, almost certainly. "-won't appreciate it. He's in a bad mood right now." Understatement of the century.

"But-"

A shrill bell interrupted Sonic, and Silver bobbed his head in the direction of their classroom. "Let's just get back to class and let Monoma cool off."

"Fine." Sonic paused for a second. "But can we at least get him some candy – _gah!_ "

Silver hadn't let him finish his sentence, using his telekinesis to lift them both and fly them to 1-A. The psychic withdrew his powers once they were outside the door. They walked in after Sonic gave him a playful shove.

Everyone was engrossed in conversation, but they were in their assigned seats, knowing that a teacher would walk in any second. Sonic tossed the bag of gummy worms over at Kaminari as he finished his chocolate. The blonde lit up like a neon sign, gushing out thanks while Kirishima and Sero looked on in jealousy.

Silver was going to follow Sonic back to his seat, swallowing his last chunks of his candy bar, but a loud, boisterous voice caused him to pause.

"Hello, students!" Silver turned around at the echoing words, watching All Might march in with a wide smile that brightened the room.

"Hello, All Might!" the class chorused almost as loudly.

The towering man stood at the front of the room, looking over all of the teens. He eventually got to Silver, who subtly perked up, almost craning his neck to maintain eye contact.

"Ah, young Silver!" All Might began, "I trust that your first day is going smoothly so far?"

"Yes sir!" Silver positively affirmed. "Everyone's welcoming…" For the most part, two blondes not really fitting that criteria. "…and it's nice here."

"Fantastic! Every faculty member and student here are a part of a family, so they are treated like one!" All Might then focused on the blue speedster in the back. "How about you, young Sonic? Today is technically your first as well!"

Sonic mock-saluted him. "Everything's all good! Though I have one question, is Mic always at max volume?"

All Might laughed wholeheartedly. "Yes, yes he is! You'll get used to him, I'm sure!"

Silver doubted that, and Sonic's dubious expression showed that he shared the same sentiment.

"Anyway!" All Might clasped his hands together. "Class, you've gotten your options for internships today, correct?" There were nods all around. "Well, in spirit of those internships being just around the corner, we're going to spend these last two days training!"

There were some cheers.

"Where are we going for this one, All Might?" Midoriya asked.

"It's not far!" the teacher replied, "Just the flat field out back! No fancy settings today!"

Iida raised a hand. "What exactly are we doing, if you don't mind me asking?"

There was a glint in All Might's eyes. "Excellent question, young Iida! Well today, you'll only have one simple objective!" He gestured to a surprised psychic. "To land an attack on young Silver here!"

Silver blinked. He had been told that he was going to help the students hone their powers, but he was going to be a punching bag? That didn't sound too fun.

"That's it?" Bakugo spoke up, tone harsh. "How can you even call something as easy as that _training?!"_

All Might's smile widened. "Oh, you'll see, young Bakugo." With that mischievous undertone in the man's voice, Silver suddenly wasn't so against this training exercise. "Each student will go up one at a time against Silver to try to hit him. There is a two minute time limit."

"Only _two_ minutes?!" Ashido gasped.

"I'm being generous! Usually, fights against villains don't last that long!" All Might reminded, and while Silver thought he was being a little skimpy on the time well, he also believed that the teacher had a good point.

Uraraka squirmed in her seat. "I understand that, but…he can just stop us in our tracks! We won't be able to get close to him!"

All Might had a counter for everything, it seemed. "Don't you worry! During this little exercise, he isn't allowed to use his telekinesis to control your bodies or to fly more than two feet of the ground."

Silver tiled his head a bit. So, this was supposed to be a challenge for both him and the students? It wasn't much of a challenge though, just a change in fighting style.

"I don't need a handicap!" Bakugo strongly opposed, eyes narrowed in a glare.

Sonic snickered from the back. "Yeah, you do, Blasty! You're not as good as you think you are!"

The dandelion bolted out of his chair, whirling on the speedster. He bared his teeth. "The _hell_ did you just say, Roadkill?!"

"Oh you heard me." Sonic's grin was smug. He then stopped paying attention to the near rabid student, asking the teacher, "Am I gonna be participatin', All Might?"

"If you want to!"

Sonic smirked at Silver. "Heck yeah!"

The psychic smirked back even though he was a _bit_ worried. He won against Sonic because he could throw him around like a ragdoll. This would be interesting.

"All right!" All Might exclaimed, "Everyone change into your hero costumes so we can get this show on the road!"

Hero costumes? Silver wondered what everyone's looked like.

* * *

It wasn't long until the psychic found out, eyes wide as Class 1-A strolled onto the wet grassy field. Silver had followed All Might out since he didn't have to change.

"…Huh," was Silver's first comment as he soaked in the costumes. They were all out-there for sure, but there were some like Mineta's diaper suit that made him want to question everything. However, there were some awesome ones like Bakugo's – he wouldn't admit it out loud because who _knew_ if the blonde would actually take it as a compliment – who had _grenades_ on his arms.

And then there was Todoroki, who was wearing his festival outfit like Sonic was.

"Welcome, everyone!" All Might scanned the crowd. "Let's get started! Who wants to go first?"

Unsurprisingly, Bakugo was the first to step up, chin lifted high. "I'm going so I can take my win as soon as possible!"

As All Might ushered the other students to the sidelines, Silver couldn't help but to frown at the blonde positioning himself across from him. He honestly didn't get Bakugo. Like sure, his quirk was impressive, but why did he act so high and mighty? Had he never lost in his life?

"Why do you act like you can never lose?" Silver had to ask, already sick of the guy. He just rubbed Silver the wrong way. "You act like you're perfect, but you're clearly not, especially since Sonic beat you the other day."

"You tell 'em, Silv!" Sonic yelled from his place beside Midoriya.

Bakguo didn't properly answer him, grinding his teeth together with a throbbing vein on his temple. He cut his eyes over to All Might, hissing, "Start the stupid timer."

All Might wasn't affected by the blonde's agonistic behavior at all. "Your two minutes start…now!"

Silver got in his usual fighting stance as Bakugo wasted no time in rushing forward, his eyes like molten lava. The psychic wasn't intimidated at all, having fought people and monsters way more dangerous than this hot-head.

He kept his mind sharp as Bakugo swiftly closed the distance, forcing out a smoking palm. Not desiring to be blown back – or have his chest hair singed – Silver wrapped himself in his powers and zipped to the side, avoiding the bright blast.

The blonde tried to catch him in an explosion with his other hand, but Silver zoomed out of the blast radius and landed where Bakugo had initially stood.

The dandelion whipped around with a glare that rivaled the heat of the sun. "Running away like a wimp must run in the damn family!"

If only there where chairs around, or tables. A table would be perfect to throw right now.

"Villains don't usually just stand there and let you hit them, you know," Silver said because apparently Bakugo thought all villains were immobile sandbags. "You just have to try harder." And become a better person overall, but Silver was sure he'd gotten that a lot by now.

The blonde's whole body tensed before he rocketed forward, eyes narrowed. This time, Silver didn't attempt to dodge. Instead, he dug his fingers in the loose earth beneath him and palmed a handful of mud and dirt.

He hurled it in Bakugo's direction, and he dodged without an issue. The blonde sneered. "What kind of ass attack was that? I – _ack!_ " Bakugo crashed to the ground when the explosions in his hands sputtered. He ended up on his hands and knees, coughing and wheezing while rubbing furiously at his eyes.

Silver kinda felt bad because he didn't mean to get the dirt in the other's eyes. Honestly. His telekinesis could be a bit inaccurate at times, especially when trying to hit the specific part of a person's face.

"Dammit!" Bakugo cursed as he looked up, his venomous gaze bloodshot and filled with tears. One of the grenades on his arms suddenly flashed, and the frown morphed into a sharp smirk. He coughed as he aimed his left arm, hand on the pin of the grenade. "Die, you piece of shit!"

On the side lines, Kirishima frowned in worry. "So that's why he was jogging in place while we changed…"

All Might gripped the stop watch a little tighter. "Young-!"

Sonic held up a hand, cutting off the hero. "It's gonna be alright, All Might!" He didn't know how powerful the incoming blast was going to be, but there was no need to worry. "Silver can handle it."

His words rung true, for the moment red-hot explosions burst out of Bakugo's palm, Silver snapped his own glowing arm in the air. The wild blasts accompanied by thunderous shock waves were effortlessly redirected into the afternoon sky. The huge explosion dissipated, the hints of its occurrence being the disheveled hair – and quills – of the people present.

Silver was proud of himself. He probably couldn't have done that with ease a few years ago.

The psychic dropped his gaze to Bakugo, and he was shocked to see the guy looking like he'd just witnessed a murder. He was gaping up at the sky on his knees, tightly clenching his fists.

Silver shifted his attention to the sidelines, and everyone – sans Sonic, who was giving him a thumbs up – were stunned speechless as well. Even All Might seemed dumbfounded.

Stunned silence covered the field until the timer went off.

Then there was chaos.

"Oh my _god!_ "

"Did he…Did he just…?"

"He did it with a flick of his _wrist!_ "

"That attack tore down a wall of a _building_ , and Silver…He didn't even flinch!"

Sonic rose a brow at Kaminari, curious about the building thing. Though, he didn't doubt the blast's power. He grinned. "Yeah, he's pretty awesome, right?"

"Outstanding!" All Might praised before eyeing the frozen blonde on the field. "Bakugo, your time is up. Come over here, if you please!" At first, it didn't seem like Dandy heard him, then Bakugo stiffly got to his feet and marched over with his eyes trained on the ground. He stood a good distance from everyone else.

Silver may not like the teen, but he didn't like seeing his spirit completely crushed either. But well, Bakugo acted the same after his and Sonic's fight during the festival, right? He'd probably bounce back.

"Anyone want to step up next?" All Might asked, scanning the group of students.

Sonic saw all the hesitant expressions and snorted. "C'mon! Who knows? You might actually get a hit on him!"

A couple seconds passed until a recovering Deku raised a hand. "I…I'll go next!"

"Alright, young Midoriya! Go on!" All Might gestured for him to go forth.

The freckled boy jogged to the center of the field, standing opposite of Silver. As he positioned himself, Uraraka shouted out, "Don't hurt yourself too much, Deku!"

"I won't!" Midoriya reassured with a smile.

Silver couldn't tell if that smile was as genuine as it could be.

"Start!"

Like with Bakugo, the psychic readied himself for anything to come. Unlike Bakugo, Midoriya didn't immediately make a move. He stared at Silver for a moment, and the hedgehog could tell there were a million thoughts swirling around in his head.

"Uh…" Silver said after a while, relaxing somewhat. Midoriya _did_ remember that he was being timed, right? "What are you-"

He cut himself off, breath hitching when Deku snapped his hand up and flicked a finger. If Silver had been any less experienced, if he hadn't known Sonic and fine-tuned his reaction time, he would've been blown completely away.

But since that wasn't the case…

Silver jerked his arm up just as fast, and a triangular shield formed in front of him just as the hurricane-like winds hit. The shape of the forcefield put less stress on his mind, and he could hold it the entirety of the attack.

His quills were whipping around like crazy, and he could only assume that getting hit with this was worse than being hit with a truck. The sports festival proved that with Todoroki and that kid with the air quirk.

He dropped the shield when it was over, sending the flabbergasted – he didn't think eyes could get that wide – Deku an impressed smile. "That was a close one. You tried to catch me off-guard! That's pretty smart!"

The students on the side weren't faring better either.

Ashido covered her mouth in awe. "He can make _shields_ too?!"

Yaoyorozu was cradling her chin, her tone filled with wonder. "That's not just telekinesis…it's energy manipulation as well!"

"So his quirk isn't telekinesis," Todoroki glanced over at Sonic, how noncommittally shrugged. "It's something else."

"It has to be!" Kaminari pulled his hair. "Why is he so awesome?!"

Silver smirked at Sonic, and the speedster rolled his eyes.

"I've just uh…trained a lot." Silver chuckled.

The timer beeped, and Midoriya walked off the field, cradling his broken finger while muttering to himself.

All Might, noticing the injury, said, "Young Midoriya, you can go to Rec-"

Deku shook his head, tone sure. "I'll be fine, All Might! I won't move it much. I really want to see how the rest of these go."

The buffy hero nodded. "If you're sure. Now who-"

"I'll go." Todoroki announced and approached the field, Silver getting into place once more.

He observed the heterochromatic boy, remembering what Sonic had told him. He hoped everything turned out well for the guy.

"Start!"

There was no hesitance this time, Todoroki sliding a foot out and launching jagged ice pillars in Silver's direction. With a wave of a hand, half of the crystals shattered, the miniscule shards scattering in every direction.

Todoroki's surprise wasn't as noticeable as the two before him, but Silver could still detect the marginally widened eyes and the slacked jaw. Todoroki paused for a brief moment – it was then when Silver heard snippets of astonished conversations – before sending out another ice attack.

With another swipe, it ended up as nothing but tiny crystals that rained across the field, glittering in the sunlight. Todoroki released an icy breath; Silver similarly exhaled as he lowered his arm. Todoroki was impressive – all of the students were – but he could tell that they relied too much on sheer power.

Don't get him wrong, power was very important, but it would get them nowhere if they didn't use it right. Maybe…Maybe this was the point of the training? To get the students to realize that?

After Silver destroyed yet another ice attack, the timer was buzzing. Todoroki said nothing as he walked off the field, clutching his right arm with his left hand.

A reluctant silence fell over the crowd on the sidelines when All Might smiled that famous smile of his. He raised the timer and wiggled it. "So, who's next?"

It was daytime, but there still were crickets chirping.

* * *

"So class, what did you learn from training today?"

Kaminari raised a hand. "That Silver's a beast and that Sonic's just as amazing because he beat him. Oh, and that we're all basically screwed if any of them become a villain."

Sonic mentally patted himself on the back as he chuckled, and Silver didn't feel so bad after that little morale boost. He couldn't be too upset that he lost though. Shields only worked _before_ your opponent got in close, and Sonic was known for getting too close way too quickly.

And it didn't help that he had been a bit tired as well.

All Might's laugh was guttural. "Lighten up, young Kaminari! Don't be so down on yourself!"

"It's hard not to…" Ashido slumped with a pout.

Silver gave a comforting smile. "You guys were really good though!" It wasn't a lie. Just because they hadn't managed to land a hit on him didn't mean they weren't talented in their own right. And they had heaps of determination too. They had given it their all.

Some of them had gotten close to passing the exercise. Jiro had him flying like crazy to avoid the assault on his sensitive eardrums, not risking his shields because he hadn't known if they could stop sound waves. Ojiro, Asui, and Tokoyami had put up a good fight as well. They were light on their feet – well, Dark Shadow was in Tokoyami's case – and were strong hitters that wanted to get in close.

Iida was probably the closest to winning but creating shallow holes in the ground had solved that problem.

"I agree with young Silver!" All Might put his hands on his hips. "You all did as well as I expected you to!"

Asui cocked her head. "Even if only one of us passed?"

"Yes!" The blonde hero held up a finger, getting into teacher mode. "Because this was a learning exercise! I wanted to open your eyes to the fact that there are an infinite amount of quirks out there, and you could be defending against any one of them at any time!"

All Might gestured to Silver. "Young Silver here is a great example. You don't want to be caught in the middle of a fight at a loss of what to do. He has a fantastic grip on his quirk, having many uses of it, and I want it to be the same for all of you as well! No successful hero is a one-trick pony!"

"So…" Midoriya started pensively, "You want us to broaden our horizons? Try to find new ways to use our quirks?"

"Exactly!" All Might exclaimed like a proud father. "Keep that in mind when you choose your internships! Any experience is good experience, but there could always be something better!" He clasped his hands together before pointing where they came from. "That's the end of my spiel, back to the classroom you go!"

"Yes sir!"

* * *

"Class is dismissed! Have a good night, everyone!"

Silver couldn't be more relieved when Midnight sauntered out of the room. She was a nice woman and all – disregarding her uh…sense of style – but she taught _art history_. Not the best subject for students and tired TAs at the end of the school day.

He had been surprised that Sonic stayed awake the whole time, but he assumed that playing rock-paper-scissors with Kirishima (who was _three_ rows in front of him. Silver didn't know how they did that without getting caught) for the entirety of the class.

Chatter filled the air as the students packed up their things. Bakugo was the first to leave the room, an aura of anger surrounding him as he stomped out. He was officially the sorest loser Silver had ever met.

However, before he could dwell too much on the blonde's extremely sour personality, Sonic zipped over and stopped right in front of him. "C'mon, Silver! Let's take a trip to 1-B!"

1-B? That was the other hero course, right? Why would he – oh. Silver shook his head. "Sonic, I already told you that's a bad idea, and we're supposed to wait here for Mr. Ai-"

"We'll be back in time! You know how slow he is." Before Silver could oppose again, his wrist was grabbed, wind was whipping across his face, and he just let it happen. If Silver pushed, Sonic was going to push back harder because that was his natural reaction.

When Silver managed to put his feet back on the ground, they were standing near 1-B's room door. A couple students exiting startled at their sudden appearance. One was a spikey black-haired boy with a blue and white headband.

He eyed Sonic up and down before going on his merry way. "Good luck." A pony-looking girl looked like she wanted to say something, but she followed her classmate without a word.

From the boy's tone and the girl's reluctance, it was clear that Silver wasn't alone in his opinion of this situation.

Sonic pursed his lips in thought. "Huh. Is Monoma really _that_ mad?"

Before Silver could respond with a clear and exasperated _yes_ , another voice did his job for him.

"Wouldn't you be if you couldn't _use_ your _arm?_ "

Silver and Sonic turned to see Monoma standing in the doorway, looking down at Sonic in disdain. Silver just wanted to leave, but the speedster waved a hand like nothing was wrong. "Hey, Monoma! I just wanted to drop by to say hi!" He glanced at the sling. "And well, to say that it might be tough now, but you can get through th-"

"Save it." Monoma huffed as he strolled forward, going between the hedgehogs and bumping them out of the way. Silver rubbed his shoulder in surprise as the blonde said, "I don't need to hear anything from the likes of you."

Yeah, a blind man could see that this wasn't going well.

"From the likes of-" Sonic frowned, affronted. "I thought we were pals?"

"We worked together _once._ " Monoma kept on walking away, not caring enough to give any type of eye contact. "And now that you're affiliated with _them_ , I want nothing to do with you."

Silver would have left the blonde alone after that, but no, Sonic had a horrible case of selective deafness.

The speedster jogged after Monoma. "Wait, listen-"

Then he froze with a familiar cyan aura around him. Silver's breath caught in his throat at the immobile Sonic before he focused on Monoma, who was looking back over his shoulder with a gleam in his eye.

"All you 1-As are so entitled. Leave me _alone_." Sonic was too busy trying to get his body to move to answer. The glint became stronger when those stormy greys shifted to the psychic. "Silver, right? Nifty quirk."

Monoma left without another word.

It wasn't until a few seconds passed that Sonic had regained control of his body. He tested his arms out, thankfully not chasing after the boy this time. "Well, that happened." He put a hand on his hip. "What a mood, huh?"

Silver deadpanned at him; that was way more than a _mood_. "I know that it's your thing and all, but you can't make friends with everyone, Sonic!"

Sonic waved him off, the students who had seen that little spectacle minding their own business again. "Silver, you've tried to kill me on multiple occasions, and I'm friends with _Shadow_."

Silver gave him a look.

"I am! And you know how the faker is. Monoma just needs some time."

Silver resisted the urge to pull on his quills. "That's what I've _been_ saying!"

Sonic playfully winked at him. "But I wanted to see for myself first!"

Silver couldn't be surprised, and he wisely dropped the unwinnable argument. "Can we go now, or do you want to bother more people?"

"Very tempting, but let's go before the teach gets his scarf in a knot."

* * *

Sonic stretched out on the couch with a pleasant sigh. He patted his full belly contently. Sure, Aizawa had pulled the 'we have food at home' card on him again, but honestly, the guy wasn't a bad cook. He had withheld complaining, this time.

And this particular meal had involved chili, so he'd been game.

"I _am_ sitting on the couch too, you know." Silver pointed out his existence before mentally pushing Sonic's feet out of his personal space.

Sonic chuckled. "Well, maybe that's my way of nicely tellin' you to move-" The rest of the speedster's words trailed off when the action movie playing on TV abruptly switched to a news station. "Hey! What gives?" Sonic exclaimed. He found the remote and was about to turn, but the headline made him pause.

_**Tensei Iida, more commonly known as Ingenium, has been hospitalized. Is he beyond recovery?** _

"Whoa whoa, wait." Sonic sat up, eyes growing wide. He'd heard that name before. "Iida's brother…hospitalized?!" This _had_ to be the reason Iida had been acting off lately.

Silver's gaze was fixated on the screen as well, his gut sinking. "That's…I feel so _bad_ for him, both of them! I wonder what happened…?"

Sonic shushed him and cranked up the volume. Aizawa was in the back probably taking a nap, and nearly nothing woke him up. They were good.

The two hedgehogs listened in silence as the news caster explained that Ingenium had been attacked by a villain in a place called Hosu City. The perpetrator responsible had been dubbed 'the hero killer'; he went by the name Stain. This villain was responsible for numerous murders and violent attacks the victims never recovered from, and Sonic had a sudden urge to go for a night run.

"Silver-"

Silver's only heard Sonic sound that serious once or twice in his life, and he felt the same exact way. But…they couldn't. "We shouldn't, Sonic." His only response was a foot rapidly tapping on the floor. Silver raked his fingers through his quills. "We don't know if this Stain guy is still in Hosu, and if he was, there's no chance we would find him."

"You found me, Silv."

"No, Midoriya found _me._ There's a difference." When Sonic didn't say anything else, the psychic continued, "And we're not known for detective work. The police might be tracking him down right now, and we might mess everything up."

Sonic's expression was sour, but his foot had stopped tapping. That was a good sign.

Silver leaned back into the cushion when the new report closed, the screen returning to speeding cars and explosions. "Look, let's just wait until more news pops up."

Sonic placed the remote on the arm of the couch, slowly relaxing again. "If he hurts another person, I'm blasting off."

Silver supposed that was fair enough, for he was thinking along the same lines.

* * *

The next day had been pretty much the same as the last. The hedgehogs had to go through the grueling process of waking up for school again – Mittens had pounced on Sonic this time – and the classes were nothing special. Homeroom with Aizawa had been filled with boring hero government nonsense that bored Sonic so much that he was tempted to jump out of the window.

Having literature with Cementoss and math with Ectoplasm – not going to lie, that guy was equal parts cool and creepy – didn't help much either. At least they got to keep their hearing for another day because the absence of Mic.

Lunch went by fine. Sonic chose to sit with Silver at Deku's table, Shinso and Todoroki nowhere to be found. The latter had been in class; Sonic had no idea where Roki ran off to. It wasn't like he was chatting the other's ear off about the internship all day. He'd left that subject alone.

Speaking of Deku's table, aka friends, aka Iida, he didn't say a word at lunch. Better yet, Iida had been mostly quiet all day, barring the times he answered questions for class.

Out of consideration, no one brought up the news even though Sonic was sure the whole class knew. The azure hedgehog thought about bringing the subject up once or twice, but he dropped it. He wasn't _that_ inconsiderate and pushy.

The highlight of the day was training with All Might. Silver was the star of the show again, but instead of 1-on-1 fights, the buffy hero wanted to test the class' reaction time. Dodgeball was the game of choice, everyone being against Silver.

There was excitement all around until All Might mentioned that Silver was the only one allowed to use a quirk.

Unsurprisingly, no one had passed the exercise, to Sonic's chagrin. He could barely deal with Silver's telekinesis on a good day _with_ his speed. Beating him while moving like a snail – in Sonic's eyes, anyway – was impossible.

Of course, Sonic wasn't the only one upset. Most of the class were even though they expected this outcome, and Bakugo was the most affected. He sulked like a child who had gotten his favorite toy taken away for the rest of the day. Would that boy ever learn to stop taking everything so seriously? The world may never know.

After school, Aizawa had ordered take-out for dinner, and Sonic lived for small victories.

Fortunately, there had been no more news about this Stain guy, but Sonic was still itching to visit Hosu. He would wait though. If there was any whiff of trouble, he was taking action.

Stain was on his watchlist, especially for hurting one of his friends.

It wasn't long before the hedgehogs fell asleep to an All Might documentary, and because the next day was the start of the weekend, they thought that Aizawa would let them sleep in. Y'know, because no school and all. They weren't seeing the other students off for internships until tomorrow, so they were totally in the clear.

Apparently, Aizawa was a sadist.

"Wake up."

"Whyyyyy…" Sonic groaned into his pillow as Silver mumbled something incomprehensible, both of them clinging to the remnants of precious slumber.

There were sounds of footsteps. "Because we have company."

"Again…why?" Sonic's whine was muffled.

Silver yawned. "Yeah, what he said..."

At this point, the blue hedgehog had woken up _just_ enough to pry one eye open. He soon realized it had been a mistake when bright light flooded his vision. After believing he was going blind for a solid two seconds, he adjusted to the brightness and found the teacher standing by the front door.

Sonic frowned in confusion because the man was fully dressed. There hadn't been a morning yet when Aizawa wasn't shuffling around in his sleeping bag. Who in the world was so important that their roommate had to get nice and spiffy so early?

Aizawa gave the slowly rousing hedgehogs a level look before opening the front door. "Remember when that I said I needed your help with something, Sonic? Here it is."

Sonic had to blink a few times to realize that Shinso was standing in the doorway.

"What, is it your turn to take care of him for the weekend?" Sonic asked jokingly. Well, somewhat. He was eighty percent sure Shinso and Aizawa weren't related.

Silver's waking brain wasn't as confident. "Whoa, is he your son, Mr. Aizawa?"

The two in question simultaneously sighed.

They really weren't helping their case.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that little conversation in the cafeteria went pretty well, but what is Shinso doing at the apartment? And what kind of ‘help’ is Aizawa talking about? It might be obvious, but eh. 
> 
> Oh and those of you curious to why Monoma can copy but Aizawa can’t erase, in my mind, Monoma just copies the surface ability (like gaining only One for All’s strength, not the inheritance stuff) while Aizawa takes away everything. But since the hedgehogs’ powers are involved with Chaos energy (which doesn’t technically exist in the MHA universe), Aizawa’s quirk doesn’t work. So yeah, just a little explanation for those interested!


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Silver is tortured.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here I am finally with another chapter. It's bit on the shorter side, but I'm pretty sure the content will make up for it!

"So wait, he made it in the hero course?!"

Silver felt sympathetic for Aizawa, he really did. It didn't matter if he was sitting up with his eyes widened in wonder, Sonic's brain functioned at full capacity no earlier than nine, and that was pushing it. It was currently seven-thirty.

To be fair, Silver was still waking up, but at least he had the sense to not ask something that was blatantly false. Three times in a row.

At least Shinso was vaguely amused, smirking as he sipped a cup of coffee.

Aizawa leaned back in his chair, pinching his nose and probably convincing himself that attacking a student with a spoon wasn't the most heroic thing to do. " _No._ "

Sonic frowned as he chewed his cereal, propping an elbow on the table. "But you just said-"

"I said that he has _potential_ to get in the hero course."

The gears in Sonic's muggy mind slowly turned until he grinned. "Potential? Oh _please._ We all know that he's getting in, right Shinso?"

"That's what I'm hoping for," the tired boy answered modestly for Aizawa's sake, but his expression practically shouted _hell yes._

Thankfully, Aizawa wasn't paying attention to him, releasing a heavy sigh before explaining to the hedgehogs, "It's still up in the air. His performance at the sports festival caught the hero department's attention, so it was decided that he should intern with me."

Sonic wholeheartedly agreed that the teachers were making the right decision, and Silver was on the same wavelength…well, mostly. After replaying Shinso's fight during the festival in his head, the psychic tentatively asked, "Even after what he said?" He hadn't been the most sportsmanlike, to say the least.

Shinso suddenly found interest in Mittens eating his breakfast when Aizawa gave him a level glance. "Every aspect of being a hero will be touched upon during the week."

Sonic snickered, sending Shinso a jeering look. "Fair enough. He still needs to learn a thing or two." Absently swirling his cup, the lanky student acted like he didn't hear him. Sonic finished the rest of his cereal. "But anyway, I'm glad that you're getting a chance now because those entrance exams did you _dirty_."

Silver placed his bowl down after slurping some milk. "Entrance exams?"

"Oh yeah, you don't know!" Sonic turned to enlighten him, sleep steadily flowing out of his system. "To get in the hero course, they had to fight some robots. And you can't brainwash something that's all wires and circuits!"

"Right…that's like making you compete in a swimming competition."

"Exactly! Not fair at all!"

"The exam was fair," Aizawa opposed, ending their side conversation. "To an extent. Every year, the festival is set up to potentially draw attention to anyone who, for some reason, underperformed during the initial exam. It's rare that second chances are given out, but-"

"Here we are!" Sonic finished his sentence with a grand gesture.

Shinso's mug softly clanked on the tabletop. "You're more into this than I am, and that's saying something."

Sonic wiggled a finger at him. "That's wrong and you know it! If you had more energy and less bags under your eyes, you'd be bouncing off the walls!"

"Probably not, but sure."

Silver almost snickered at the response, feeling guilty that he'd judged a book by its cover. Shinso was a good guy despite first impressions. He definitely wasn't of Bakugo's nature.

A shiver ran Silver's back at the idea of Bakugo with brainwashing. The world would be doomed.

Ousting that disturbing image, he began, "So, Mr. Aizawa." The man rose a lethargic brow at him. "Are we going to help out with his internship? I think you mentioned it with Sonic earlier…"

Aizawa nodded. "Eventually." He folded his arms loosely across his chest. "To start things off, I need to get a good understanding of his athletic ability." Shinso's surprise was palpable, and Aizawa addressed him. "I've been informed of what you're capable of on paper, but I want to experience it first hand to know where to go from here."

The tired teen furrowed his eyebrows. "We're not going to focus on my quirk? Or-"

"We have all week for that," Aizawa answered easily before regarding the hedgehogs once more. "And I'm evaluating you two as well."

"What?" Silver and Sonic chorused, equally caught off-guard.

"Principle's orders." Aizawa stood up, collecting the used bowls and empty mug. "Go get cleaned up. We're going to the gym."

Sonic sat up in interest while Silver instantly regretted becoming a teacher's assistant.

* * *

The gym was barren when they arrived, which was expected. They hadn't run into anyone because it was the weekend, and Silver _really_ wished he hadn't been dragged into this.

The psychic inwardly sighed at all of the machinery and weights that littered the massive space. He could already feel the ache in his muscles.

"Wow, this place is huge!" Sonic gushed as he stepped forward, eager like a kid _already_ high off of sugar set loose in a candy shop. "Never really visited gyms at home, but I'm sure none of them were as impressive as this!" He whistled at the rows of treadmills off to one side. "Wonder how fast those babies can go?"

"Nowhere as fast as you can, I'm sure." Shinso scratched the back of his neck, looking unenthused about what was in front of him. Silver could sympathize.

Aizawa ambled toward those machines, beckoning the teens. "I'm evaluating your stamina first. Sonic, you can sit this one out."

Sonic followed with a pep in his step. "You kidding? I never pass up an opportunity to run!"

Shinso and Silver weren't as eager as they trailed after. "Has he always been like this?" the brainwasher muttered.

"Ever since I've known him," was Silver's knee-jerk response, and he instantly clammed up. He and Sonic were supposed to be brothers, and there he went putting that cover story in jeopardy. Being threatened with physical activity threw his mind out of whack.

Luckily, Shinso didn't catch onto anything suspicious. He snorted. "How old are you?"

"Fourteen."

"I'm so sorry."

"I heard that!" Sonic called as he stepped onto one of the treadmills.

Silver chuckled, relief releasing the tension from his shoulders. "He's not that bad." He claimed the machine by Sonic and placed his water bottle in its holder after adjusting the controls to his height. He had a feeling he was going to need a refill _extremely_ soon. "Most of the time."

Shinso took the treadmill to his right with a smirk, but before he could comment, Aizawa cut their conversation short. He was standing off to the side with a stop watch in hand. "I'll give you some time to warm up, but when I tell you to, set the speed to ten."

"Ten?" Silver repeated, struggling to keep the shock out of his voice. "That's basically a sprint, isn't it?"

Sonic scoffed. "A crawl's more like it."

He was ignored. "Hero work is fast-paced," Aizawa drawled over his scarf. "Jogging could be a fatal flaw in a bad situation. Not everyone can rely on a secondary mode of transport like you can."

"I understand." Secondary? More like _primary_ transport. Silver felt his doom incoming, and he chanced a glance at Shinso to see how he was taking this. His expression didn't say much, keenly absorbing every word the teacher said. If he wasn't complaining and this was basically all for him, Silver wasn't going to start.

"Alright, begin."

While Silver and Shinso only cracked the dial up to calm beginning speed, Sonic was too curious to stop there. He wasn't the one being observed for this test anyway. Sonic held the button down, going from a walk to an easy jog when the numbers stopped.

He groaned. "Seriously? Only thirty miles per hour?" The machine was whirling under his thudding feet. "And I was so excited too!"

"There hadn't been a reason to have any at a higher speed." Aizawa eyes roamed Sonic's form, the hedgehog not breaking a sweat. Sonic was about to bring up Iida, but the teacher beat him to the punch. "Usually, the speed-based quirks we've seen are boost based, so outside tracks are preferred than treadmills. You're the first that running comes so-" Sonic grinned at Aizawa's pause as he spun around, showing off by running backwards. "-naturally."

"I'm flattered!" Sonic threw him a wink. "And maybe now the faculty can think about getting some that goes to a hundred! Or even-"

Aizawa deadpanned at him. "Warm-up is over." He focused on Silver and Shinso, the latter trying hard not to gawk at the blue hedgehog. His creased eyebrows and partly open mouth gave him away. "Speed up," Aizawa said, pressing a button on his watch.

Sonic snickered as he crossed his arms, watching as his two friends went from a walk, to a jog, to a near sprint. After a minute or so, Shinso was taking deeper breaths, and Silver was in the same boat as him.

The psychic's mental endurance was outstanding, but, "Blood pumping yet, Silver?"

"Sonic, don't." Silver panted because his legs were begging for him to stop and rethink his life choices. They burned along with his lungs, and how long had they been running? Ten minutes?

"Two minutes."

Silver cursed the construct of time.

At least he wasn't the only one suffering, Shinso's heaving breaths as loud as his own. Sweat glistened on his forehead and dripped down his chin.

When Silver wiped away moisture that threatened his eyesight, Aizawa pressed that same button again and uttered, "Stop. Cool down."

Silver almost cried out in relief, decreasing the speed like a mad man. Once the conveyer was barely moving, he downed his water like it was a lifeline, Shinso doing so as well while leaning heavily on the machine.

Silver managed a breathy chuckle despite the condition of his noodle legs. He gained the brainwasher's attention. "Mind quirks aren't the best for building physical strength, huh?" The shaky grin died when he groaned. "I'm dying."

Shinso barely had the energy to nod. "Join the club."

Sonic was standing still now, cool as a cucumber. "What a rush, huh guys?"

"Hey, Sonic," Silver wheezed.

"Yeah?"

"You suck."

"Seconded," Shinso rasped before going for another gulp of water.

Sonic shrugged, taking a dainty sip of his water bottle that got them both to roll their eyes.

"You two lasted nearly three minutes." Aizawa dropped the watch into his pocket. "It doesn't surprise me, for mental quirks shift focus off of the condition of your body. I've experienced it firsthand." He walked off. "Go refill your bottles if you need to. We're going to the sand bag next."

Sonic hit the air with a few quick jabs. "A punching bag? This place is a gift that keeps giving!"

Shinso inhaled deeply before trudging over to the water fountain on the adjacent wall. Silver bypassed walking altogether, dragging himself through the air to give his muscles a brief break.

Today was going to be a long day.

* * *

When they left the gym, it was half past noon and Silver desired the warm embrace of sleep.

He was floating out of the school, arms and legs too spent to even try to use. Shinso walked beside him; his expression was relaxed, but his limp was a clear sign of his suffering. Sonic rotated his shoulders as he strolled out happier than going in.

Sonic smiled as he relieved his taut muscles. Even though Aizawa had focused on his upper body strength, his arms were only a bit sore. The results of a good workout.

"I hope that this experience was a wake-up call for you."

Aizawa was ahead of them, stopping once they were on U.A.'s walkway. He turned around and shoved his hands in his pockets. Shinso was attentive as he could be as he spoke. "It's normal for a hero to go through this kind of training every day, so if you get into the program, this is what is waiting for you. Understand?"

"Yeah." Shinso squared his shoulders. "I can handle it."

"You wouldn't have any other choice to." Aizawa shifted his gaze to Silver, and he wasn't going to pretend to be tough because he was sure Mittens could beat him in a no-quirk fight right now. "Same goes for you. If you plan on becoming a hero, you can't neglect your body."

"Gotcha…" Silver coughed even though he was already a hero, and there hadn't been a situation yet that he couldn't utilize his powers.

Sonic put his hand on his hip, grinning. "Any advice for me, teach?"

"Start treating me with a little more respect. Use my proper-"

Sonic held up a finger when the phone in his pocket began to ring. "Hold that thought!" Disregarding Aizawa's exasperation, he read the caller ID aloud. "It's Uraraka?" He hadn't been sure on who to expect, but she definitely wasn't it. They continued walking when Aizawa gave up the fight. Sonic smirked at his back before answering, "Hello?"

" _Hey, Sonic! Am interrupting anything?"_

Silver and less blatantly Shinso were eavesdropping on his conversation, the psychic going so far as to float a little closer. Sonic wondered where this was heading. "Nah! We just finished um…" His words drifted off when Aizawa cut him a sharp look over his shoulder. Shinso was apparently a secret. Got it. "Washing Aizawa's cat! Yeah."

Sonic shrugged at the disbelieving expressions he received. What? It was a possible thing to do!

" _O…kay…"_ He was sure Uraraka had many questions in her head, but she left the topic alone. Sonic would've done the same. _"So, is Silver near you? Can I speak with him?"_

Silver's power stuttered in his surprise, and Sonic barely restrained his chuckle. "Sure thing! He's right here."

He handed the phone over as Shinso mumbled, "You work fast."

Red dusted Silver's cheeks. "It's not like that!" He changed his mind. The brainwasher was horrible.

" _Not like what?"_ He heard Uraraka's distant inquiry.

"Nothing!" Silver hastily reflected the question, regaining control of the situation. "Uh, hey Uraraka! Do you need something?"

" _I just have a quick question! How did you get so strong with your quirk?"_ Before he could begin to process the question, she rambled on. _"It's just that I'm going to be spending most of my internship focusing on hand-to-hand stuff, and I don't want to completely push my quirk to the side. And with how similar ours are, I thought you might pass along some tips! What's your secret?"_

Silver floundered. She sounded so enthusiastic and cheery that he couldn't possibly say something as simple as 'throw some cars around'. That probably wasn't legal here anyway. Or anywhere. But this dimension was definitely stricter on that kind of stuff.

"It's nothing complicated!" Silver wracked his brain for whatever he'd done when he was a kid. "Just…focus on the small stuff first. Like, see how long you can float something small and try to keep it up for longer times. Or maybe you could set a specific time and float steadily heavier things…is this helping?"

" _Totally!"_ There was scribbling on the other end. _"It's so simple that I really should've came up with it myself, but thanks Silver! And out of curiosity, how long can you use your quirk for?"_

"Uh…" Silver was so used to his ability at this point that all he worried about was weight, not length. "I could maybe keep a book in the air the whole day. A car a few hours at least."

" _Whoa! Seriously? Wow, I have a lot of work to do…"_

"You can do it!" Silver cheered her on. "You have a few more years at U.A., right? That's plenty of time to learn how to turn Bakugo into a long-lasting kite."

She laughed. _"Oh my god, yes! If that's not the best incentive, I don't know what is."_

"You heard that?" Sonic whispered to Shinso. "He got her to _laugh._ "

The student nodded. "It's getting serious."

Silver pointedly ignored them as Uraraka continued, " _But again, thanks for this, Silver! I have to go, and hopefully Mr. Aizawa doesn't make you do any more chores!"_

He would take weird chores over aching bones any day. "Yeah, hopefully! Good luck on your internships!"

" _Good luck with Mr. Aizawa!"_ She laughed again before hanging up.

Silver lowed the phone, glaring at Sonic who was way too entertained by this. "Ironic how you're laughing when _you_ were the one a certain princes-"

"You promised to never bring that up again!"

"No, keep going." Shinso prompted, taking a sip of the little water remaining in his bottle. "I'm curious."

"You don't want to know, trust me." Sonic assured. Soleanna and its…occupants were a banished subject. When Shinso opened his mouth, Sonic changed the subject at whiplash speeds. "Hey, you don't have my number, do you?" He was glad he remembered before they split paths for the day.

Silver chuckled as Shinso regarded the blue hedgehog, probably debating on pushing the subject or not. "No. Not sure I want it. You seem like the type to double text."

Sonic rolled his eyes good-naturedly. "I wasn't, but I'll make sure to pick up the habit just for you!" He gestured to Silver, and he handed the phone over to the tired teen. Shinso took it with a sigh. "Oh, and I'll text you Roki's number later so you can get a head-start on that apology!"

He caught the phone when Shinso tossed it to him with a cocked brow. "You seriously not giving up on that." It was more of a statement than a question.

"Nope!"

Silver glanced between the two, lingering on tallest. "It had been hurtful…"

Shinso looked up at the drifting clouds in mild annoyance. After a beat, he said, "Fine. I'll apologize when I get into the hero course. Face to face."

Sonic smirked before calling out to the adult ahead of them. "Heard that, Mr. A? You gotta let him in now!"

"I don't have to do anything," was Aizawa's grunted answer.

But Sonic knew he wanted to. He could feel it in his bones.

* * *

"Ya gotta love when the teach decides to be lazy."

"Yeah." Silver spoke around the pepperoni pizza in his mouth, leaning back on the couch. "Especially after the torture he put us through the last couple of days." Sonic's smug aura mocked him, and he took back his words. "Well, after torturing me and Shinso. Why do _I_ have to work out too?"

Sonic snickered as he swallowed a bite of the cheesy goodness. "For support! You guys are struggling in the same way, so it makes sense that-"

"Just eat your pizza," Silver lightly groused, remembering the workouts. The first day hadn't been a one and done type of deal, oh no. They did it again the next day after sending off the students for their own internships. He couldn't feel genuinely happy about the others' trips because he _knew_ pain was coming.

Then later, after taking a much needed nap to recuperate, Aizawa had Shinso come back for _more_ internship stuff. Granted, it had been just Sonic and Silver testing his reaction times, but still, Silver's muscles hadn't recovered.

The day after that had been the same, and Silver had wondered how much he would have to bribe Recovery Girl to stay at the apartment with them.

However, today was _thankfully_ somewhat of a break. There had been no workouts, and Shinso didn't have to show up until the pizza was delivered. In fact, the worst thing of the day was happening right now. Shinso was getting a lesson in 'patrolling', which was simply watching the local news.

The brainwasher was enjoying the food as well, relaxing beside Sonic with Mittens curled up in his lap.

"Think of it as a head-start." Shinso commented on the gym topic as he finished off the crust. "For when you get into U.A. or wherever."

Silver sighed but didn't argue, for doing so would blow their whole cover.

Sonic patted him sympathetically on his shoulder, earning himself a huff. He finished his slice as well, but instead of going for another, he reached for the remote beside the pizza box. Absolutely _nothing_ was happening on TV besides a late traffic report. "I'm sure teach won't mind if-"

"Yes, I would." Sonic groaned as Aizawa reappeared like a summoned ghost. He strolled into the room and claimed the recliner off to the side, done with the call he had taken earlier. _Perfect_ timing. "We can't take the chances of missing anything."

"But nothing has happened!" Sonic complained. Not a thing. There hadn't been any villainous activity since the Stain event all the way in _Hosu_.

"It doesn't mean that it won't."

Shinso petted the sleeping cat. "He got you there."

Sonic groaned again. "Can't we at least go outside and patrol? Because, you know, that's what patrolling is?"

Aizawa crossed his arms, clearly not in the mood for Sonic as a whole. But when was he ever? "We are doing it like this because it is what Shinso would be doing in the future if he becomes a pro. With his quirk, becoming well-known will do nothing but hinder his work."

"So this is what you do?" Silver asked before drinking some soda.

"When I was more active."

The conversation lulled then, the boring words of the future paving of a new road filled the air.

Sonic slumped against the couch cushions. He was going to go insane at this rate. Maybe if he distracted himself, he'd keep his sanity.

Hm…he wondered what Todoroki was up to. Sonic had thought about texting him to see how he was but resisted the urge. He was probably fine, despite working with that _quirky_ father of his.

Sonic had been shocked when Roki told him at the station, but he couldn't be mad. It had been his choice. And well, at least the experience of tagging the number two hero would come in handy.

The hero marginally frowned. Even so, he couldn't help to worry a _bit_ if Todoroki was being forced to use his fire, or-

Sonic's thoughts were interrupted by whirling blades and a frantic voice. He sat straight up when he realized that the boring nothingness on the TV had been replaced by distinct explosions and raging flames that lit up the night sky.

Silver froze mid-bite. "What…What's going on?"

"Is that happening here?" Shinso rushed out.

"No." Aizawa was staring intensely at the scene, muscles rigid. "That's Hosu."

"Hosu?!" Sonic's breath was ragged as the city burned. Was that the work of Stain? Was that his quirk?

A buzzing his pocket startled him. Movements jerky, Sonic took out his phone and unlocked it, confused by the map on the screen. There was a blinking dot in the center of it, an address in Hosu lined the bottom, and it said that it was sent by…Midoriya?

The pieces fit together instantly.

Sonic hopped up to his feet. "Silver, put down the pizza!" He zipped over to his shoes and swiftly slipped them on. "We're goin' to Hosu!"

Silver was all for it, throwing the slice back in the box. "Right!" He flew over to his boots.

Aizawa was up in one fluid movement, eyes shining red. "You're not going anywhere! There are pro heroes _there_ who-"

"No can do, teach!" Sonic cut him off. "You guys have your ways of doing things, and we have ours! We can't just sit back and watch!" He glanced over to Silver. "Ready?"

The psychic tersely nodded. "Ready." He mentally yanked open the door.

Sonic saluted the irate Aizawa and stunned Shinso. "We'll be back!" He sprinted out of the apartment with Silver following closely behind him.

Shinso stared at open door before slowly shifting his attention to the teacher. "Are they allowed to-"

"No." Aizawa gritted. "They aren't."

* * *

Adrenaline was pumping in Todoroki's veins as he ran.

His breaths were short yet harsh, hitching when screams and rumbles sounded in the distance. Maneuvering through the back alleys of Hosu, Todoroki kept his eyes peeled because the last thing he needed was to be caught unawares out here.

He was alone, and he may or may not be working against a time limit.

The grip on his phone was tight as he checked the location once more, making sure he was headed in the right direction. He was. Good.

Todoroki turned another corner to be met with a barren street, emptied by panicking citizens seeking safety. He knew that he still had some ways to go, but he cursed under his breath anyway. The raging flames illuminating the sky didn't help in calming his nerves.

If he knew anything about Midoriya, it was that he thought things through. Todoroki had no clue to why he was here in Hosu, but he figured that something was keeping him from leaving. Todoroki doubted the shared location had been an accident, and no person with a minute to spare would forgo any details whatsoever.

Todoroki doubted Midoriya was safe and sound during this spontaneous attack. That doubt separated himself with his father, exploring the unknowns alone.

And to think, his being here had been decided by a flip of a coin. Hero work versus quirk development, those were the two sides.

One of the pro agencies that had wanted him was led by a hero with a strong water quirk. Todoroki needed to develop his own. A perfect match.

However, Endeavor was the number two hero. Despite those piercing eyes, the everlasting judgement, and the past that clung to Todoroki's mind if he so much _glanced_ in his father's direction, Endeavor was the number two hero.

He couldn't choose, so he trusted a coin.

Luckily, Todoroki was led here.

He rounded another corner and froze in his tracks.

Iida was laying immobile on the rough pavement while the hero killer stood over him with sharp blade ready to tear. Midoriya was behind them, awkwardly crouched low to the ground. There was also a fourth person; a pro, it looked like. He was slumped against the wall in obvious discomfort.

Todoroki's heterochromatic gaze snapped back to the blade as it lowered.

Iida would have been dead if he hadn't been lucky.

He pocked his phone in one swift move, holding his right arm out and grasping it in another. He'd been practicing on his own – against his father's wishes, which was the point – and he needed it to pay off.

A torrent of pressurized water burst from his palm, and he gritted his teeth when Stain hopped out of the way. At least there was distance between him and Iida now.

Stain landed in a crouch, him and the others noticing his presence. The hero killer narrowed his eyes. "Someone else to get in my way. Today's been _full_ of distractions."

Todoroki removed his hand from his arm. The area stung, but no red hand print remained. It was all about control. And this situation was missing a good chunk of it.

He addressed Midoriya without relieving Stain of his cold stare. "I wondered why you hadn't included details with your location. I see why."

Iida's voice shook with surprise and desperation when he spoke. "Y-You too, Todoroki?"

"How'd you get here?" Midoriya's question was breathy, winded. "In Hosu?"

"Doesn't matter." Todoroki wasted no time in twitching his right foot, rushing out a layer of ice that aimed right at the killer. Stain jumped up again the avoid it, and he didn't expect anything less. He focused on creating a ramp for his classmates and the unknown pro, sliding them to his side of the alley. None of them were moving on their own.

Todoroki's muscles tensed. He couldn't afford to slip up. "The pros will be here soon," he uttered to the ones closest to him, ready for the next move Stain was going to make. His voice rose so the villain heard him loud and clear. "You won't be taking anymore lives, Hero Killer." Not if he could help it.

Stain's frown grew more prominent, and Midoriya's frantic yell pierced the air. "You can't let him get your blood, Todoroki! I-I think he controls his enemies by swallowing it!"

Todoroki eyed the killer's weapons, everything clicking. "That explains the blades," he replied while readying himself to attack. Stain's quirk should not be a problem for him then. He was a long-range fighter, so he could-

All thought screeched to a halt when sudden pain blossomed in his cheek. He barely had time to process the bleeding gash caused by a flying blade before Stain was on him, brandishing a knife.

With the swipe of an arm, a thick wall of ice sprung from the ground to stop the swing that had the potential to slash skin. Stain glared at the block before glancing upwards.

Todoroki followed his line of sight to find a sword falling right above his head. Again, any chance to react was snatched away from him. Stain grabbed the front of his shirt and yanked him forward, his disgusting tongue sticking out of his mouth.

Eyes widened, and Todoroki's hand reached out to freeze something, _anything_ , but his body refused the listen to him. Stain scoffed at his side before shoving him hard to the ground. He hissed at the pain upon contact.

"N-No! Todoroki!" Midoriya shouted in shock.

"I…" His muscles twitched but remained unresponsive, the feeling of unease crawling down his back. "I can't-"

"I don't know your motives, kid." Stain caught the falling sword effortlessly, eyeing him like he was some annoying bug. "But you came here with the intentions to save those scourges of society." The killer faced Iida once more, and he forced his heart rate down. "I'll deal with you later."

Stain raised his sword, and Todoroki refused to let him take another step closer. Sharp shards of ice protruded from the ground. The killer whirled around and sliced the ice in half, crystals raining around him. Todoroki couldn't muffle his pained cry when two knives lodged themselves in his right arm, blood spilling out of the wounds.

"No!" It was from Iida this time, his tone filled to the brim with fear. "This is my doing, Todoroki! Don't fight! I…I'll handle him!"

"'Handle me' he says." Stain sneered at Iida, Todoroki unable to let loose another attack because of the _unbearable_ pain _._ "Let's see how you plan to handle me when there's a blade through your head." He positioned himself above the trembling class rep again, eyes glinting in the artificial light. "Die."

He brought down the sword.

He was launched backwards before he broke the skin.

A sickening crack echoed in the alley, following by a guttural scream as Stain was hurled into the air. Todoroki was speechless when the man crashed against the pavement a good distance away from them, shakily groaning.

Stain struggled to get back up, crouching on his knees and clutching his chest. He coughed up blood that splattered against the ground.

Todoroki heard the killer's ragged breathing from here, and he focused on the assailant because _who-_

He sucked in a harsh breath at the _thing_ floating in front of a gaping Iida. He would've mistaken it for Sonic if it wasn't hovering a good foot off the ground, completely made out of metal, and if those sharp claws at its side didn't make something in his gut twist.

Illuminated red eyes reflected the low lighting. "Target acquired." Those claws twitched as Stain met its piercing gaze. "If you resist, I will make your death excruciating."

The hero killer's glare was swirling with anger, agony, and underlying confusion. His chest convulsed as he eventually stood, wiping the blood from his mouth. "I must purge this world of impurities, and a remote-controlled _toy_ is not-" He stifled another cough. "-going to stop me."

The glowing eyes flashed dangerously.

"So be it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stain is going to regret calling him a toy...


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which...things go awry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back so to rescue you from that cliffhanger! A little warning though, this chapter isn't as lighthearted as the others...just putting it out there.

"What is that?"

"I don't know, Tomura Shigaraki."

A full moon shined overhead, illuminating dark shadows that street lights couldn't reach. Two figures stood under the faint natural glow, having been alerted by the booming crash right outside of their building.

Shigaraki narrowed his eyes at the prone object sprawled out in the middle of the adjacent alleyway. "Is this some kind of prank?" He scratched his neck as he approached the mysterious item. "Did some damn kids-"

"I wouldn't go near it."

"Why not?" He shot Kurogiri an irked look over his shoulder, but the man's yellow eyes never swayed from the object of their curiosities.

"Do you not see the blood?"

Shigaraki's attention returned to the object. With the low lighting, he had missed it, but he noticed now. There were carmine splatters littered all over the toy, robot, thing. It was face-down on the pavement, limbs splayed out in different directions. Its hands, _claws_ , were saturated in red, covering the metallic hide underneath.

Shigaraki scanned its condition, spotting a multitude of dents and scratches where the blood was scarce.

He scrunched his nose at the coppery smell that smacked him, appreciating how his father's hand blocked some of the odor.

Disregarding Kurogiri's wishes, Shigaraki approached it. The presence of blood erased the idea that this was some stupid prank. Standing over it now, he tilted his head at a faded glow emitting from underneath the object.

Shigaraki flickered his gaze to Kurogiri, who still hadn't moved, before he kicked the thing over. A clank echoed, and he zeroed in its face, which was cracked in several places. It had oddly shaped eyes, with what looked like an empty loading screen positioned in the middle of them. The image blinked with glitched static every few seconds.

"What the hell?" Shigaraki couldn't wrap his head around this…or the _shining_ diamond that the robot had been covering. He picked the jewel up, careful not to activate his quirk. Its pure green glow was almost mesmerizing.

"This…is peculiar." Shigaraki heard Kurogiri approach, steps light. The man stared at the glowing gem before dropping it to the bloodied form on the ground. "I believe that we should leave them be. We don't know-"

"Seriously?" Shigaraki interrupted him with a derisive scoff. He held the diamond closer to his face. There was something off about it that he couldn't explain. Something swirling right under the surface. "No sane person ignores free collectables, Kurogiri. And well…" He rested his foot on one of the robot's arms. "Let's see what this loading screen is hiding."

The warp villain didn't answer him at first, assessing the situation. Eventually, he uttered, "I understand where you're coming from. However, there is a chance that this is a set-up by the heroes."

Shigaraki sneered. "What in the hell are they setting up for? They dropped these things right outside our hideout. We would've been arrested already if they had cheated and somehow found us." He started to walk back to the entrance of their building, ordering, "Warp it inside, and put it where it won't stain anything."

Kurogiri's sigh of exasperation was hardly audible. "Very well."

* * *

Shigaraki's keen eyes snapped to the blue hedgehog smiling on screen, walking with other bratty kids into an audience-filled arena.

He was glad they decided to keep the robot because the similarities absolutely couldn't be a coincidence.

If only it would hurry up and _load._

* * *

"You think that you can get rid of me?"

Rage flowed through Shigaraki like a dam had burst, wiring every nerve in his body as he glared at the textbook definition of insanity standing before him. The hand clutching the bleeding gash in his shoulder tensed, but the pain wasn't his main focus right now.

All of his attention and anger was aimed at Stain, the infamous hero killer whose foolish convictions and morals earned him a place on Shigaraki's hate list. They were all _doomed_ if they let this guy join their strategic party.

"Kurogiri." Shigaraki never broke eye contact with the killer, meeting Stain's glare with his own. "Someone as crazy as this will be _nothing_ but a problem for the League of Villains."

"Please reconsider." Kurogiri suggested, recovering from his frozen state moments before. His stance and tone were less antagonistic as he faced Stain. "This man will be a great asset if he joins us. I'd say this was a success."

The hero killer wasn't going to be swayed at all, to Shigaraki's pleasure. "My business here is done," he said with finality. "Now, you will return me to Hosu." Stain's eyes were piercing as he licked his lips with that disgusting tongue. "There are still several false heroes I must attend to there."

When Kurogiri hesitated, Shigaraki's cold voice rung out. "What are you waiting for? Warp him!"

"Alright," the man ceded, and a swirling void of darkness emerged behind Stain. A dismissive grunt was the killer's goodbye as he disappeared into the churning portal.

Shigaraki continued to glare at the now empty space. His nails dug into his neck. "He's going to suffer after we shove him off his stupid high horse."

Kurogiri was calm, too calm for his liking. "You should rethink your choice. His drive is admirable, and his motives are sound. Think about it, Tomura Shigaraki, he is already changing society by-"

"Shut up." His scratching came to a halt, instead crossing his arms while withholding a pained wince. Damn those blades of his. "If we can't agree on a basic level, what's the point?" Shigaraki harshly exhaled. "Prepare another portal to Hosu."

"Wait."

"Stop trying to _convince_ me!" He snapped, whirling on the warp villain. His next words trailed off when he noticed that Kurogiri wasn't looking at him anymore. Shigaraki followed his line of sight to the doorway leading deeper into this bar they call a hideout. A good chunk of his irritation was pushed to the side, for apparently, the game was done loading.

Standing in the doorway was the robot from days ago. They – Kurogiri – had cleaned it up and stored it in the back, waiting painstakingly for that loading bar to fill up. In the place of that bar were black eyes with red irises that glitched every few seconds. In fact, those eyes were the only things moving, for its blue body was completely still.

Shigaraki turned to fully face it, ready to utilize his quirk if Kurogiri couldn't warp the thing fast enough. He doubted that they had to resort to defensive measures, however. No hero he'd seen has had that much blood on their hands.

The glowing eyes snapped to his movement. Shigaraki watched as he was being observed, knowing already that this wasn't just some enhanced toy.

Robots normally didn't size people up.

Kurogiri was the first to break the silence with an experimental greeting, "Hello."

It switched targets at the voice, scanning the warp villain as well. Silence reigned for a handful of seconds, and when Shigaraki believed that they weren't going to get an answer, it responded, "Mission objective."

The words were choppy, like they had tuned into a crappy radio station.

Getting over how it sounded, Shigaraki didn't know how to properly respond to the statement, or rather the _demand_ with how forceful it was.

"Huh?" he asked intelligently.

It focused on him again, now managing a full sentence. "What is my mission objective?"

"A job? You want a job?" Shigaraki gave the worse-for-wear robot a once-over, remembering the blood lingering on those claws that looked sharp enough to tear. A devilish idea came to him. "I have a _perfect_ one for you."

"Don't be so hasty." He was tired of Kurogiri's hesitance. They couldn't let Stain get too much of a head start. The wispy man leaned against the counter. "Where did you come from?"

The reply was immediate. "I can't answer that inquiry."

That rubbed Shigaraki the wrong way. "Can't, or _won't?_ "

"I meant what I said." Anger bubbled back up at the crisp retort, but apparently his glare was ineffective. The robot inspected one of its arms. "I'm not in prime condition. Many things are inaccessible internally because of extensive damages, including my memory database."

"A clean slate?" Kurogiri bent down, standing back up after a second with a shining diamond in his hand. "So, you are unable to tell us what this is, then?"

Glowing red eyes roamed over the jewel, and it answered, "I cannot."

Kurogiri was about to say something else, but Shigaraki was already bored of this back and forth. They had more important things to accomplish at the moment; the mystery of the gem could wait.

"No more questions." He sent Kurogiri a pointed look, and he replaced the diamond in silence. Shigaraki stepped toward the robot, ready to get this show on the road. "You said you wanted a job, right?"

"A mission."

"Whatever," he dismissed. "We need you to track someone down and kill them." He was still planning on releasing the Nomus as well, but it wouldn't hurt to determine the level of their new member. To see if it lived up to its image. "Can you handle that?"

Its stare was unwavering. "Provide a description."

* * *

Midoriya's brain was scattered as he laid immobile on rough concrete. He had barely been handling this situation to begin with, and things went bad to worse when Todoroki ended up in the same condition as him and Iida.

Then, this robot who was the _splitting-image_ of Sonic appeared out of nowhere, threatening to kill Stain without a second thought.

When Midoriya had signaled for help, this wasn't what he had in mind.

A tornado of questions was bouncing inside his head, most taking the form of _why._ Why was it here? Did Sonic somehow know it, sending help their way? Why did it look so similar to him? And probably the most important question: why was it going to _kill?_

Heroes shouldn't resort to killing, no matter the circumstance. No one deserved to lose their lives, the hero killer included. They just needed to incapacitate him to turn him into the police without crossing the boundary between right and wrong, without losing the trust of the ones you were sworn to protect, without-

Midoriya's breath caught in his throat when the robot rushed forward, it nothing but a raging blue blur. Stain couldn't possibly react in time, for the student barely managed to keep up with his eyes.

Another agonized shout filled the air when the punch to Stain's cheek landed, the shear _impact_ of it causing Midoriya to flinch as if he had been the one hit.

The brutal attack had been a right hook, so the hero killer slammed into the neighboring building full-force. Stain slumped to the ground with a sickly bruise already forming on half his face, a temple that was gushing out blood, a dazed and glassy gaze, and god…he was barely _conscious._

"We…We have to stop this!" Midoriya couldn't watch this play out. "We can't let it kill him!"

Three pairs of eyes instantly found him. Iida's voice was hushed yet bewildered. Terror had leaked into it as well. "Are you _serious_ , Midoriya?" He glanced over to the robot and thickly swallowed. "We can't…not like this, not now! We aren't experienced enough-"

"Didn't stop you from seeking Stain out, did it?" Todoroki levelly cut him off, his expression subtly twisted in pain from the knives still stuck in his arm. Iida gritted his teeth with no response, and Todoroki focused on Midoriya. "Even if we wanted to do something, we can't move."

It was then that something loosened within him. Midoriya's eyes widened when he could twitch his fingers, and they snapped over to the hero killer. "That's where you're wrong!" He didn't know if it was Stain's weakened state or something else, but there was no time for inspection now.

Midoriya inwardly cheered as he shifted his position into a crouch, spreading One for All evenly throughout his system. His focus nearly shattered however when the robot dragged Stain up effortlessly by his neck. The hero killer clawed at the unforgiving fingers, his blades all but forgotten.

The center of the metallic assailant's body began to light up, and Midoriya wasn't going to wait to find out what exactly it did.

Power surging, Midoriya propelled himself off the ground, green lightning crackling the air around him. He stomped down any trepidation and clenched a solid fist as the distance between him and the robot rapidly decreased.

This punch should send the robot far enough away for him to grab Stain and then…and then what? The hero killer was little better than dead weight, Todoroki, Iida, and Native were still immobile, and it had a speed comparable to _Sonic._ There was no escaping – unless the attacker was down for good.

Midoriya tensed his muscles when the thought that _this was a robot_ finally settled within him. He didn't have to worry about hurting the other too badly because it didn't feel pain, and deactivating was not the same as killing. He could do this. He could-

Green and red eyes met once Midoriya was an arm's length away. He aimed right for the head.

Instead of making contact, searing pain flooded Midoriya's system when claws raked through the side of his face with no remorse.

He screamed as he crashed to the ground, sliding past his target. The rough landing went unnoticed, for his left cheek was on _fire._ Tears dripped to the ground as he managed to get on his knees. Spots of red dotted his shaking hands, terrified to touch the torture his nerves were going through.

A sob breached his throat, himself frozen because that… _this_ …he couldn't… No, he _had_ to so he could save a life. He had to push through this somehow and save Stain. Or…Or at least stall until…

Sensing movement in the corner of his watery eye, Midoriya carefully turned his head only to see that the light was aimed at him.

"Midoriya!" Iida's voice cracked in horror witnessing the robot whirl around with impossible speeds, slashing his friend right in his face. He crumbled to the ground, and Iida had never felt so helpless. His breathing stuttered as he tried and failed to get any of his muscles to move, twitch, _anything._

Midoriya was going to get gravely hurt because of his stupidly impulsive actions.

Crazed blue eyes swiveled over to Todoroki, who was frozen, rendered speechless by the attack. They couldn't move, but Todoroki could still attack. Fire was his only option to stop this _villain._ "Todoroki!" he rushed out a whisper, gaining the other's attention. "Do you think you have hot enough fire to melt it?"

The boy clenched his jaw. "Yes."

"Then use it!"

"I…"

Todoroki refocused on the dire situation in front of them, thoughts whirling erratically. Fire couldn't be the only option. The robot could see the flames coming from a mile away, he could miss completely, he didn't know if he had enough energy to utilize the rustier half of him, he'd come _this far_ on his own without his father so there had to be-

" _Todoroki!"_

Large pillars of ice shot out of the ground. Todoroki panted and pushed through the pain in his right side to send a solid barrier between Midoriya and the homicidal machine, jagged edges reaching for the night sky.

Light burst from the robot's center, and the ice instantly shattered.

The haunting scream from Midoriya smothered him with unadulterated horror and regret, constricting all air from his lungs.

Along with the ice, the wall opposite the robot collapsed once Midoriya slammed through it, the blinding laser propelling him back with ease.

Todoroki's eyes had never been wider. "Midor…" his throat strained as brick after brick tumbled down.

"Midoriya…" Iida was the opposite, voice clear as he hyperventilated. "MIDORIYA!"

No response.

"Oh god…" Native shakily whispered from where he was behind the two petrified students.

"That's the punishment for attempting to prolong the completion of my mission," the robot said, training its growing red eyes on Todoroki and Iida. Their pulses were thudding in their ears at the intense gaze that would surely haunt their nightmares.

Stain, still held tightly by the throat, looked over the carnage and rasped, "The…kid didn't…deserve…"

That was all he was able to say before his neck was snapped.

Stain dropped to the ground, lifeless.

The boys were freed that same moment, but they didn't move. Fear kept them weighted to the pavement. One wrong decision and it could be all over.

Death stood right in front of them, with its blood red eyes and dripping claws.

Then, without another word, it blasted high into the sky and out of sight.

Iida gasped like he'd breached the surface of water, not realizing he'd been holding his breath until now. His heart was a jackhammer in his chest, and the robot's departure did nothing to soothe it. He scrambled up to his feet with a wince. Pain shot from the open wounds on his arms, but he didn't care.

He had to get to Midoriya.

"Wait, kid!" Iida stopped mid-step at the voice, whipping his head around to find Native standing up, his hand covering a large splotch of blood on his side. "You go get help while we start finding your friend."

Iida nodded. "I'll be back!" And Midoriya was going to fine. He had to be.

The student avoided looking at Stain's corpse as he sprinted away.

Todoroki was sitting up when his classmate ran off with a trail of fire following him. He wrapped his fingers about the first knife in his arm and yanked it free without thinking, hissing as more blood dribbled out of the wound.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." The hint of a tremble in Todoroki's voice said otherwise. Native didn't question it, running over to the mound of rubble that wouldn't have _existed_ if he had just – Todoroki ripped out the other blade and threw it on the ground.

He ran after the pro, dread weighing every step.

* * *

"Do you think we made it?"

A deep rumble sounded off in the distance, and more plumes of smoke rose as orange fire danced in the sky.

"Call me crazy, but yeah, I think so."

Sonic stood on the outskirts of what he assumed was Hosu city, seeing people running in panic and hearing alarmed shouting deeper in the metropolis.

Silver floated beside him, fists clenched and ready for action. "So, what's the plan? Are we going to Deku or checking out that fire?"

"I think the fire is _why_ he sent the location. To get as many people to help as possible." Sonic crouched and grinned. "Better get your bleach ready, Silver, because it's time to get rid of some stains!"

He zoomed, and Silver couldn't keep in his exasperated sigh as he trailed after.

It took a minute or so to find the center of the commotion, and Sonic expected to see the hero killer upon his arrival, not two monstrosities missing a good chunk of their skulls. Their brains were out for all to see, and that was just gross.

Silver was thinking along the same lines, scrunching his nose up in disgust. "That can't be healthy." He surveyed the area, noticing heroes and of course the wild fires. He frowned. "I don't see Stain, or Deku either."

"Deku's probably helping people evacuate," Sonic said, ear twitching when the muscled monster-guy let out an almighty roar in the middle of the clearing. He's heard louder in the past. "And well, we don't know if Stain's here or not. He could have a quirk that turns him into an ugly monster who at _least_ should put on some make-up before leaving the house."

"Or a paper bag, to be on the safe side," Silver muttered and put all jokes aside when the big dude lifted a huge truck with ease. It aimed at a couple of shocked heroes, but Silver was going to make sure that the vehicle never made contact.

He rushed into the air to the surprise of the people around, obviously not expecting his appearance. Silver enveloped the truck in his powers and yanked it out of the brute's massive hands. Wasting no time, he whirled around to gain momentum and slammed the truck into the villain's side. It was launched at break-neck speeds into a neighboring street.

Silver lowered the vehicle back down, its shattered windows and horribly dented doors making him nervously laugh. "Hope no one actually owned this…"

"Good job, Silver!" Sonic dashed over to him, ignoring the gaping heroes for the time being. "I'll take care of the big lug! You're in charge of the fire and the flying one!"

"Piece of cake!" Silver grinned at him, and Sonic dashed off with a salute to the on-watchers.

"Wha…kids?!" One of the heroes shouted in confusion. He had horns of a raging bull and a glare to match. "What are you doing here? It's dangerous! Get out of the way!"

"Wait…" Another man spoke up. He was dressed in white and blue, wearing a finned helmet. He stared in the direction Sonic left. "That was the student from the festival, the one who won the whole thing!"

Silver nodded. "Right, and I'm his brother." Eyeing the fires around, he inhaled deeply, raising his hands to his shoulders. He slowly lowered his arms with an exhale, his powers spreading out and smothering most of the flames with a blanket of cyan. These fires were a walk in the park compared to the ones he had faced in the past.

As the heroes looked at the remaining embers, flabbergasted, Silver smiled confidently. "So what if we're kids? We came here to help!"

"Look! It's getting away!"

A woman wrapped in a red scarf pointed to somewhere behind him. Silver peered over his shoulder and locked onto the winged monster flying off.

Silver glared when he noticed the limp hostage carried in its sharp talons. He whipped his hand out and froze the monster mid-flap. Yanking the distressed adversary closer, Silver mentally pried open the claws and safely floated the person down into a stunned hero's arms.

"Does anyone have any rope?" he asked, and he received a collective 'no' from the stunned audience.

Thinking on the fly, literally, Silver forcefully wrapped its wings around its struggling body, making sure trap flailing arms and to have one of them over those eerie eyes. Once he was successful in blinding the monster, Silver smiled apologetically at the heroes before plucking one of the nearby streetlights out of the ground. Screeching and groaning filled the air when he tightly coiled the metal around the croaking creature.

Silver placed the captive on the pavement, mentally patting himself on the back. "So…" He grounded himself, gazing at all of the speechless pros. "Do you know if there are any more of them roaming around?"

"There haven't been any reports of more," the guy with the finned hat recovered first. "But there's a possibility."

"Then I'll search around to make sure!" Silver offered, and when he wasn't met with any opposition, he took off in the opposite direction Sonic went.

A street over, Sonic was having a grand old time.

He easily rolled out of the way of a heavy punch and flipped backwards to avoid a just as devastating back-hand. Those attacks could probably do some massive damage, if they actually hit their target.

Too bad Sonic would never get to witness the strength, because this guy was _slow._

Those were the best enemies to fight, but still.

"I'm gonna ask one more time," Sonic started after the monster yelled in frustration. "Are you Stain?" He'd repeated the same question about three times now, but he hadn't received an answer. Either it couldn't understand, or it gained some satisfaction from purposefully ignoring him. Honestly, it could be either.

The brute roared ambiguously once more, smashing both of its hands down on the ground. Having jumped beforehand, Sonic was in the air as concrete broke apart and was flung in every direction because of the amount of force behind the attack.

Sonic smirked when the dust cleared, the monster searching all around for him. Now in a fall, he called, "Looking for me?" His enemy craned its neck to focus on him – somehow doing so with no eyes – and that's when Sonic landed an _oh-_ so-satisfying axe kick right in that disgusting brain.

The hedgehog landed in a crouch while it stumbled forward. Not giving the other any chance of recovery, he sprung back up, spun around like a crazed windmill, and dug his heel into its jaw.

The monster stumbled this time to the side, but it didn't fall. "You're a tough one, aren't ya?" Regular enemies would have been down for the count by now. Expectedly, Sonic didn't get an answer. It simply made more monster-y noises. "Then, see if you can take this!"

He curled up into a ball and delivered a Sonic Classic – aka the trustworthy spindash. His whizzing body slammed into its chest one, two, three times, making the other cry out until it thought to hold its arms up to block.

Sonic rocketed into them anyway, increasing his spin to do some lasting damage.

The monster didn't like that so much, for it roared yet again and hurled Sonic away with a thrust of its arms. The speedster had been tossed into the air for more than enough time to flip and land on his feet, skidding across the pavement.

He finally came to a stop a good distance away and groaned when the shallow slashes on the monster's arms swiftly healed good as new. "Seriously, regeneration? That's cheating!"

Its growl was guttural, and Sonic huffed. Well, small attacks weren't going to cut it anymore. Time to go all out. The hedgehog glanced all around at the buildings, focusing on the ones at the end of the street. He hadn't seen civilians meandering around the place, and he was sure all of them had been evacuated. Especially this close to a fiery fight.

Sonic crouched low and placed his hands on the ground, smirking. "You sent me on a little flight, time to return the favor!"

He blasted off, and windows all around him violently shattered because of the generated shock wave. Everything blurred except for his unsuspecting target.

Sonic's clenched fist was buried in the center of the monster's stomach, folding the fiend in half. Then, momentum caught up, and the brute was rocketed backwards, slicing through the air despite its size.

Sonic shook his hand to dissipate the dull pain as it crashed through the second story of a building, being swallowed up completely. Glass shards rained down along with metal and tile. He just gave some lucky workers a day off tomorrow.

The hedgehog waited for a second. When there were no signs of movement, he was about to run over and see if the monster was truly taken out, but a voice stopped him.

"That was the definition of idiocy." Hearing footsteps, Sonic turned on his heel to face the way he had come and instantly had the urge to roll his eyes. Endeavor's heated glare was trained on him as he approached. "This is why heroism is left to the adults who _don't_ treat expensive structures like disposable playground equipment."

Sonic ignored every word he said and instead waved. "Oh, hey! Isn't it the number two hero?" He grinned at the scowl on the man's face. "You showed up just in time! That punch was amazing, right?"

It was clear that Endeavor didn't share his enthusiasm. The scowl deepened.

Sonic scoffed, putting a hand on his hip while the other continued to amble closer. "From the sounds of it, you were here before I hit 'em with that super awesome move. Why didn't you tell me to stop then?" He smiled cheekily. "You just wanted to see how good I was, huh? Admit it!"

"Shut up," the flaming man barked, training his eyes on the ruined building, "and _leave._ "

A blue ear twitched at the sounds of crunching glass and a heavy thud. Unfortunately, the monster had retained consciousness, climbing out of the rubble and falling to the ground. It croaked as scratches and bruises steadily healed, but its gait was wobbly.

"Nah." Sonic grinned and put a hand on his hip, using the other to gesture to the enemy now clumsily dashing their way. "I wanna see what the number two hero is capable of!"

Endeavor gave him the silent treatment as he sprinted forward to stop the brute halfway. They met in a clash of muscles, them straining on both sides. Well, that was until Endeavor clamped the monster's face with both hands. Bright orange fire shot out of his palms, muffling animalistic screams. The orange shifted to a burning blue, and there was no mouth to scream from anymore.

Okay…wow.

Sonic had to admit that was kinda cool, but he couldn't ignore the way his gut twisted when the headless monster crumpled to the ground.

"Uh." He jogged over to the hero's side, eyeing the rising smoke. "You might've just killed Stain, so…"

"The hero killer?" Endeavor narrowed his eyes at him. "You come here where you don't belong, and you don't even know what the villain _looks_ like _._ This is a Nomu."

" _Hey,_ I know what Stain looks like! I just wasn't sure what his quirk was and – wait." Sonic's thoughts screeched to a halt. "You said this thing is called a Nomu?"

The male affirmed it with a grunt, and words from a few days ago echoed around in his head: _"What does the word 'Nomu' mean to you?"_

Recovery Girl had asked him that during his first night in this dimension. Now that he knew what a _Nomu_ was – an actual monster of some sort – he couldn't think of why she would bring it up. Maybe-

"Are you listening to me?"

Sonic looked up at a nasty glower and told the truth. "Nope! Was it something important?"

The pro's hands clenched at his sides. "I _said_ go back to whoever brought you here. You're not needed anymore, never were."

"Uh huh." Because Endeavor could've _totally_ beaten the guy without him weakening it first. Yeah right. "Look, Todoroki's my friend, but to be completely honest here, he's not gonna beat me anytime soon. So, get rid of that excess rage because it _has_ to drain you to be angry all day every day."

The man's flames burned brighter. "He _will-_ "

"Speaking of Roki, is he here?" Sonic shamelessly cut the other off. The hero's face turned an interesting shade of red. "He's interning under you, so he probably is. He could be with Deku." Sonic pulled out his phone, muttering to himself at this point. "Lemme check that location…"

Endeavor looked ready to erupt. Sonic wouldn't be surprised if he could. "Where are your manners, _boy?"_

_The same place you keep your parenting skills,_ was what Sonic wanted to say, but it wasn't his place. He had boundaries, believe it or not.

"Sleeping," he said instead, furrowing his brow when the word 'unavailable' appeared onscreen. That was weird.

Sensing movement in his periphery, Sonic looked up to see Endeavor marching away. "Hey! Where ya going?"

He was given the cold shoulder, which was arguably very warm with flames dancing all around it.

Sonic didn't push, having had his fun. After pocketing his phone, he ran back the way he came with a pep in his step.

Upon reentering the clearing, he saw heroes on phones, one tied up Nomu, and no Silver to be found. He smirked at the bound villain before asking the nearest person, "Do you know where Silver went? My lil bro?"

Nearly everyone looked at him, but a man with horns answered, "He's looking for more of those guys." He bobbed his head at the monster. "Normally, I would worry about kids going off on their own, but…"

Sonic chuckled. "At least someone gets it! Thanks for the info!"

Before he could blast off, there was another question, "Did you and Endeavor defeat the other one?"

"Yep!" Sonic winked. "You don't have to worry about that guy anymore!" Many pairs of awed eyes landed on him, and he genially waved before racing away.

Silver was most likely flying, so he had to find a good vantage point.

Luckily for him, this city was full of them.

* * *

Silver flew over high reaching buildings with a keen eye, searching for monsters or for any kind of suspicious activity. He was relieved that a lot of the city had been evacuated. Nearly all the streets and buildings were empty.

"Silver!"

Except for the alley right under him.

The psychic pressed the brakes and peered down to locate the familiar voice. It was Iida to the hedgehog's surprise, and he had seen better days.

The student was harshly panting, his eyes were blown with panic, and was that… _blood_ running down one of his arms?

Sensing that something was terribly wrong, Silver swooped down into the shadows. Concerned eyes roamed the other's body once more before asking, "Iida! What happened?"

"Midoriya's trapped under rubble!" he rushed out, turning around and shouting, "Follow me!"

Silver gasped and trailed after without any hesitation. Wind whipped across his face as he worriedly questioned, "How did it happen?"

Iida dodged his question to Silver's confusion. After a brief moment of silence, the speedster asked his own. "Is Sonic here in Hosu too?"

There was a waver in those words that caused him to frown. "Yeah, but-"

"Hey, guys!" A blue blur fell out of the sky and crouched in front of them. Silver didn't miss the strangled breath Iida exhaled before he composed himself. They slowed to a stop as Sonic smiled. "Where y'all headed?"

"Deku's buried, and we're going to help dig him out!" Silver supplied, thinking about how deep Midoriya was, how much weight was on top of him, were his own powers going to be enough…

Sonic sobered at that, and he looked at Iida for confirmation. "What…seriously?" The student nodded, his stare intense. "Then lead the way! We gotta get him out of there!"

Iida didn't need to be told twice. He resumed the trek with Sonic and Silver on his heels, the hedgehogs sharing a concerned look. Sonic was beginning to think that he misunderstood why Deku sent the location.

With the trio's speed, getting to their destination was a quick affair.

After turning the last corner, Sonic and Silver almost choked in shock. Endeavor had been right about the Nomu not being Stain, for the hero killer was _here._ His body was laying by one of the walls lining the alley, deathly still. Blood and purple splotches covered the man's face, and his neck was bent at a very wrong angle. Who-

"Why aren't you digging?!"

Iida's stressed tone tore their attentions to the massive whole in the opposite wall that was completely caved in. Todoroki was kneeling in the mess, hands covered with dust and dirt as blood dripped from slashes in his arm. Another man was there too, probably a pro, and he was just as dirty.

"We can't anymore!" The pro wearing a feather responded breathlessly. He snapped his gaze over to the hedgehogs, it lingering on Sonic before refocusing on Iida. "There's a risk that more of the building will cave in if we keep going straight through!"

"I got it!" Silver flew closer and landed beside Todoroki, raising his arm. He covered all of the loose foundation above the place of collapse in a cyan glow, holding it steady. "Nothing should fall now!" And he should be able to keep this up for a while, hopefully long enough to free Midoriya.

The pro startled at the soft glow before getting back to work, Todoroki already doing so. He dug his hands into the debris and tossed sizeable chucks behind him, and Iida joined the effort after a moment. He was slower though, his unseen injuries hindering his movements.

Sonic zipped over after one more look at Stain. He settled between Todoroki and Iida, throwing brick after brick. He bit his lip his he mentally fit the puzzle pieces together of what happened. It was a safe assumption that Stain gave his friends those injuries and possibly had trapped Deku, but…

The blue speedster glanced between Iida and Roki, both hyper focused and recovering from whatever they had gone through. He couldn't picture them as killers. Did the pro do it, then? He had to ask. "Stain…who-"

"None of us did." Todoroki grunted, sweat mixing in with the blood on his cheek. "It was a robot. It did this to Midoriya, and it killed the hero killer." Sonic frowned, not understanding. If something was after Stain, then why would it also target a soon-to-be hero? His confusion was cleared up with Roki's next sentence. "It looked like you."

Sonic froze, and Silver had to concentrate extra hard to keep his powers in check.

"What?!" They both yelled, appalled.

Iida gritted his teeth as he shoved with his more mobile arm. "Yes, same color, same shape…" He locked eyes with Sonic. "…same speed."

The blue hedgehog felt Silver's fretful gaze on him, but he didn't acknowledge it because _Metal Sonic_ was here. Normally, that bucket of bolts wouldn't cause his heart to race like this; however, they were in another dimension filled with people who had no experience with him.

And he could be anywhere by now.

"You know what it is."

Sonic opened and closed his mouth a few times because what was he supposed to say? That Metal Sonic's a replica of him built by a stubborn doctor in their world who shared many of his fighting qualities? Right, that _surely_ wouldn't blow their cover story.

He was positive that his reaction to Todoroki's statement was a clear _yes,_ so denying it wouldn't do him any good. So, he worked his arms again and said, "It's a long story, so let's just focus on Deku right now, 'kay?" Maybe that would give him enough time to think a story up, or to fill Aizawa in about it and get advice, or something.

"That thing's _dangerous_ , Sonic!" Unfortunately, Iida wasn't going to let it go easily. "Tell us what you know so that-"

"What's going on here?"

Eventually faced the booming voice, Endeavor's fiery body standing at the mouth of the alley. He eyed the debris, then Silver and his powers, and finally the digging crew.

Beside him was a short elderly man dressed in white and yellow, a cape flowing behind him. He was silently scanning the damage.

Todoroki was the one to respond, his attention back on the rubble as he spoke. "Midoriya's trapped under here. We need as many hands as possible."

"Wait, Midoriya?" The elderly man repeated, stunned, before running over. "That's my intern! Hurry, we have to-" The rest of his words were cut off once he noticed the still body separated from them.

Endeavor followed his line of sight, and his expression soured.

They both stared for a few more seconds, eventually joining the effort to dig.

It went without saying that they were all going to have some interesting conversations in the future.

As minutes ticked on, the alley became electrified with anxiety, the only sounds being the sharp thuds of bricks hitting the pavement. Endeavor had called the police and the ambulance at some point, but his quiet yet stern words did nothing to ease the atmosphere.

What did though, was Iida shouting, "I see a hand!"

Sonic barely had the time to spot where it was before Endeavor bellowed, "Move!"

The hedgehog did without any fuss, watching with a clenched jaw as the hero took over by himself. Little by little, Midoriya was revealed, and Sonic's stomach dropped.

Deku was unconscious – he was breathing, to everyone's relief – and covered with bruises and scratches from the collapse. His right arm was twisted unnaturally, and his shoulder was popped out of place. His face had deep gashes, still bleeding and staining his costume.

Those were all minor injuries compared to the angry burn that covered his chest and stomach.

The material from his costume had melted away, leaving red and blistering skin open for all to see.

By the time Endeavor carefully positioned the boy in his arms, sirens were sounding off in the distance. Silver released the rest of the building once it was safe, and the hole was filled again with merciless rubble. Dust settled into the air.

The elderly man sighed. "I don't know the story of what happened here, but be prepared for a world of trouble, kids."

No one responded to him. Iida was glaring at the ground with tears moistening his eyes, Todoroki was staring blankly at Midoriya's unconscious form, Silver was doing the same but with concern etched into his features, and Sonic…

He was imagining Metal being ripped apart limb by limb.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, Stain's dead, Metal's with Shigaraki, and Midoriya got the short end of the stick here...things aren't going well.


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which things settle down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Blame Smash Ultimate for making this chapter late! Sorry about that!

Footsteps thudded against a pristine floor, retracing the same path over and over again.

Silver believed that permanent indentations should have been left in the tile by now. He couldn't blame Sonic though, not after being slammed with metaphorical bombshells.

His attention left his pacing friend, sweeping the large resting room they were assigned to and landing on wide windows overlooking Hosu. Artificial lights lit up the otherwise darkened city. All the panic from a couple hours ago had died down, and it was like the attack never happened.

But it definitely did, the injuries of their friends being strong proof of that.

Silver eyed the only exit of the room, the door leading to the rest of the hospital. Iida, Todoroki, and Midoriya had been separated from them as soon as they arrived at the building. After being checked for injuries, he and Sonic had been dumped in this room to wait while the students got treatment. A surgery in Midoriya's case…

He inwardly winced at the memory of Deku's condition. Silver was almost relieved that the student was rendered unconscious, for the pain would have been too much to handle. Between the gashes, the broken bones, and the burns…yeah, recovery was going to be a battle in itself. And it was caused by the _last_ familiar face he expected to see in this dimension.

Metal Sonic was out for blood, anyone's blood, and they didn't have a clue where he was.

" _Ugh!_ " Silver was shaken out of his reverie by Sonic's explosive groan. The blue hedgehog pulled at his ears and collapsed on the bed right across from Silver's. He angrily groaned again, it muffled by a pillow this time.

Silver softly sighed, shifting on his mattress to face him. "It's safe to say that we feel the same about this situation."

Sonic rolled over so his words were clearer. "It's just, why Metal, why here, why now, why _Deku?_ " The rare ire that sharpened his tone faded away when he sat up with a huff. "He took a laser to the _stomach_ , and Metal isn't gonna stop there."

Chewing the inside of his cheek, Silver began, "But we don't know-"

"I know you're tryin' to be optimistic, Silver, but look at Stain." Sonic didn't want to be so pessimistic, but reality wasn't pulling any punches. "You heard what they said. All it took was a jerk of Metal's wrist." He leaned back on his hands, his gaze sadder. "And he didn't even _use_ his copy ability."

Silver was fighting hard to find some kind of light. "What if it doesn't work in this dimension, though? Aizawa's quirk doesn't work on us, so it's possible."

"But Monoma's did, remember?" Sonic muttered.

"Todoroki said he looked really banged up, so maybe he can't anyway?"

"Even if his copycat stuff doesn't work, Metal's still a force to be reckoned with without it." Sonic grumbled. "Especially if Eggman's behind the scenes."

Silver gasped. He hadn't thought about that. It was rare to have one without the other. "Do you think he's here too?"

Sonic readied an affirmation, but he paused to ponder a bit. Sonic himself had been all over the news, or at least was shown _enough_ for Silver to catch wind of him. If Eggman was in this world, there would be a high chance of him realizing that Sonic was too, knowing exactly where he was as well. If Eggman was with Metal, he would've told the bot to storm U.A. a long time ago to fight.

That didn't happen. Also, the doctor liked his bucket of bolts too much to send him out damaged. He would've fixed Metal up beforehand.

"I don't know," Sonic ultimately answered, wishing that he could go back to enjoying this awesome dimension without having to worry about deadly robots.

Before he could explain his doubts to Silver, their room door slid open with a creak. All thoughts were put on hold when Todoroki lightly stepped inside with Iida following in his footsteps.

Any greetings the hedgehogs had died on their lips at the appearance of the two. Well, it was more of a response to Iida than Todoroki.

The students had changed into hospital gowns which showed off their bandaging. Todoroki only had wrappings around his right arm, but Iida had both of his bandaged up into taut slings. He had been hurt more than the hedgehogs had thought.

It wasn't just the injuries that rendered the duo speechless and worried. While Todoroki had subtly nodded at them, his expression hard to read, Iida hadn't glanced their way yet. The glistening of his wet eyes was clear as day, along with the wrecked expression he was flutily trying to hide.

Sonic and Silver shared an unsure glance, the former opening his mouth. "Iida? What's-"

"Save any conversations for later. It's listening time," a vaguely familiar voice said as the same short elderly man from before strolled in with a prominent frown.

"You're who Deku's interning with, right?" Silver tentatively asked, leaning forward on his bed. "Have you checked on him? Is he okay?"

"I'm assuming you're talking about Midoriya. They're still working on him," the man answered, and the way Iida clenched his teeth almost went unnoticed. Silver followed the pro's gaze when he glanced over his shoulder, continuing, "But let's push that aside for now because you two have a visitor."

On cue, a tall man, er…dog walked into the room, his gaze steely. His hands were tucked into his dark suit, and an aura of importance surrounded him.

"This is Hosu's Chief of Police, Kenji Tsuragamae," the elderly man provided, going to stand at the taller one's side.

While Sonic believed that the guy couldn't be anything _other_ than the chief, the job was perfect for him in every way, Silver had a sinking feeling in his gut. If a man that high up on the ladder came to see them, it couldn't be for a good reason.

The short pro threw the hedgehogs a glare. "Where are your manners? I don't recall you two having any leg injuries."

Silver sent him a confused look before it sunk in. He slid off the bed and stood, motioning for Sonic to do the same. The blue hero did without any fuss. However, if this had been the Commander of GUN back home, it would've been a different story.

As long as this guy didn't try to run him over with an armored truck, they were good.

"Hey, Chief!" Sonic waved a hand in greeting, his carefully unburdened voice jarring in this somber atmosphere. "What can we do ya for?"

"As you can possibly tell, I didn't come here for a friendly chat." Kenji's voice was deep and gruff, allowing no room for any lightheartedness. The chief stared Sonic down, his slight frown not telling much. "So, you're the new addition to U.A. High, the one recommended by All Might, correct?"

Sonic wasn't surprised that he knew. "Right."

The chief cut his eyes over to Silver, brow marginally arched. "And you are?"

"My name is Silver, Sir!" he aptly responded. "Sonic's brother."

"Do you attend U.A. High as well?"

Silver shook his head. "No…not really. I'm just a TA for the hero classes to help out a bit."

If Kenji was surprised, it didn't show. The chief hummed at the bit of information before saying, "You two are being introduced into the industry of heroism, and yet, you go out of your way to break the rules that keep our society stable."

"Break the-" Some of Sonic's friendliness waned at the reminder of those wacky laws in place. He furrowed his brow. "Are you serious? You'd rather talk about us going out of our way to save _lives_ than to talk about Deku or Stain or-"

"I will get to _that_ in a moment, woof." Kenji interrupted him, and the silent warning in Silver's eyes kept Sonic quiet. "Abiding by these rules are important to keep the status quo. They have been in place since the outbreak of quirks, and they will remain for years to come. You seem to have forgotten this, but _only_ licensed pro heroes are allowed to use their quirks against villains, understood?"

Sonic tapped his foot against the floor. "But why? We did what the pro heroes couldn't do! Silver took down one of those Nomu's by himself without getting a scratch on him! Why are we getting yelled at for doing what's right?"

The chief's words had gained a sharp edge to them. "Because we don't want other children following in your footsteps."

"Why?" Sonic knew he was beginning to sound like a broken record, but the man wasn't answering him. "There would be no more villains to worry about!"

"There would be mass _chaos_." Kenji's tone was sure, inarguable. "The purpose of these rules is to prevent harm to others, and how would we do that if everyone used their quirks whenever they believed the moment was right? Most of them would have little to no training, creating unnecessary mayhem and danger to those around them. Pro heroes abide by a code of ethics, an untrained teenager with a possibly harmful quirk does not."

Sonic understood what he was saying, he really did, but it wasn't settling well in his stomach. "What if a villain was hurting someone right in front of me. What then?"

"Use your quirk _without_ harming the villain to save the victim."

"But-"

"Sonic, just…" Silver spoke up with a shallow sigh. Arguing about this wasn't going to get them anywhere. Neither Sonic nor the chief were going to change their beliefs anytime soon. "We understand, sir," he told Kenji, feeling Sonic's incredulous stare on him. "And we're sorry. We were in the heat of the moment, and…we'll let the pros handle it next time."

Kenji looked at him before training his piercing eyes on Sonic.

The speedster would rather deal with homicidal trucks than this. "Yeah," he reluctantly admitted so this conversation could be over. Sonic the Hedgehog was a hero, and no law was going to change that. "We won't get in the way if it happens again."

"Good." The chief nodded. "And to make sure you keep your word, a punishment will be decided for you two in the morning."

"A _punishment?!_ " Both Silver and Sonic were baffled. They were getting punished for doing what was right! How upside down was that?

Kenji grunted. "It's what happens when you break the law, woof." Silver meekly rubbed the back of his neck while Sonic put a hand on his hip, wondering if there were going to be any loopholes in this so-called punishment.

"Now that has been addressed, let's talk about Stain." Kenji's gaze lost some of its coldness. He glanced over at Todoroki and Iida, who had remained silent throughout the exchange, before refocusing on the hedgehogs. "These two, along with Native, have told me the story of what happened during the fight and that you somehow are familiar with the robot that killed Stain. Care to explain?"

Everyone seemed to perk up at the question, especially Roki and Iida, the latter finally shifting his gaze off the floor.

Sonic took a deep breath and hoped that they ate up his lie without any problems. He had almost texted Aizawa during the break to help come up with a story, but he figured that the teacher would've gladly left the message on read.

"Well, I wouldn't say _familiar_." Sonic leaned against his bed as he spoke. "He – It has attacked me like twice, and I told Silver about it. He's never seen the bot." Silver nodded like the good actor he was, both hoping that the others didn't catch Sonic's slip up. "I never thought that I would see it out here, though…"

"Right, you were the transfer from the United States." The chief reminded himself, pensive. "Had there been other incidents of the robot's attacks?"

Sonic shrugged. He couldn't exactly say that there had been. The police would do some researching, turn up with nothing, and Sonic was already in enough trouble as it was. "None that I've heard of. I think I'm its only target. Or, I _had_ been."

"We believe that it's because Sonic's a big threat." Silver hopped into the conversation. "Apparently, whoever made the robot had it have Sonic's speed, so Sonic is the only one to rival it. It's possible that they want to get rid of him to have one less threat…"

The short pro hero seemed to be buying it. "Have you told anyone else about this?"

"No…" Sonic forced himself to look sheepish. "I thought that since I got the opportunity of a lifetime over here, they would stop. Turns out I was wrong."

He couldn't tell if the chief was along for the ride as well. "And what about the robot's appearance?" he asked like he was, but the lack of emotion wasn't telling enough.

Sonic shrugged again. "I don't know what goes on in that crazy lunatic's head." Actually, he did. Eggman thought that a metallic doppelganger would be enough to stop the blue blur, but he couldn't be any more wrong.

Kenji exhaled harshly. "Well, it seems that we have a massive problem on our hands. There is a robot of your speed out there with no qualms about killing, and there is a high possibility that it may be a part of the League of Villains."

Sonic and Silver shared an unknowing look, for this was their first time hearing about them.

Todoroki and Iida's widened eyes landed on the chief. "Are you sure?" Roki asked.

"It can't be a coincidence, kid." The greying pro answered gruffly. "Nomus were crawling around the place and that thing shows up. It wasn't a random circumstance."

Kenji nodded. "Gran Torino's right." Sonic didn't dwell on how that cool name didn't really match the pro's appearance for long, because the chief added, "There is a very high chance that the robot is working with the leader of the group, the warp villain, and who knows who else."

Silver's breath caught in his throat. _Did he just say…_

… _the warp villain?!_ Sonic unknowingly finished the thought, keeping his reaction in check. Things _refused_ to go right today.

"Who are the League of Villains?" Silver asked, his curiosity burning within.

"A band of low-life villains with a hidden agenda." Gran Torino crossed his arms, muttering, "I don't like this one bit."

"They're getting stronger, bolder." The chief marginally shook his head, addressing Sonic and Silver once more. "This discussion is over, for I have to inform the rest of the station about this development." He took a half-step toward the open door. "Remember this lesson that I've taught you today, woof."

With those words, he left.

"You best stay out of trouble, youngins." Gran Torino began to follow in the chief's footsteps. "For the sake of your future." He stepped out and slid the door shut behind him.

Sonic waited a few seconds before uttering, "Does anyone else want to whack the chief with a rolled-up newspaper, or is it just me?"

"You can't say stuff like that, Sonic," Silver lightly chastised, unable to put his heart into it because he was feeling a type of way about the chief himself.

"But you have to admit that all the stuff he said was-"

"Right. Absolutely right." A hushed yet stern voice interrupted Sonic, and the hedgehogs turned to see Iida carefully settling into one of the remaining beds. He released a shaky breath, glaring unseeingly at the sheets. "We… _I_ shouldn't have done what I did. I foolishly let anger control me and went after Stain, resulting in _this._ "

Sonic frowned, moving closer to the distressed teen. "This isn't the time for regret, Iida! I don't blame you at _all_ for going after someone who had attacked many people, including your _brother_." When Iida seemed to wince at that, Sonic eased up a bit. "It's what heroes do, bud. They do what they can to protect people."

"I didn't protect anyone!" Iida yelled, glaring through his moist eyes. "Look at Todoroki, _Midoriya!_ I caused their injuries! I'm the reason that we were in that fight in the first place! I…" He shook his head, clenching his jaw. "I don't deserve to be called a hero."

"People are gonna get hurt, Iida, whether you mean for them too or not." Sonic went over and leaned against the bedframe, smiling to try to ease the pain Iida had to be feeling inside. "Not everyone is going to get out of every fight clean and spotless in this line of work. It's going to get messy."

"But heroes aren't the ones causing the messes!" Iida was stubborn, refusing to let go of the guilt. "Name _one_ hero who went out of their way to track down a person, willing to k-" His voice cracked as he stumbled over the word. "-harm them without a second thought?"

Silver raised his hand, and Iida looked at him in muted shock. "I don't know if the law considers me a hero, but _I_ do, and…I've came close to killing someone before."

Sonic watched as he walked over, and Silver gave him a subtle nod before continuing softly. "And my reason was far less heroic than yours. I had been blind and just _angry_ , going off lies without any depth to them. I was literally one second from going through with it."

"Maybe not _literally_ ," Sonic mumbled, and Silver ignored him for the sake of getting Iida to understand.

"What I'm saying is that I had injured a completely innocent person in pursuit of blind justice, but that was _one_ mistake." Silver remembered Sonic laying defeated on the ground, the victorious feeling that with one move, all of his troubles would be over. He would have to thank Amy Rose again for stopping him when they got back home. "One mistake doesn't define who you are. Which is a future hero."

It was clear that Iida was fighting an internal war, eyes searching Silver's face for any sign of dishonesty. "But…"

"If anything, you're definitely not a villain." Sonic confidently added. "They wouldn't be going through this right now. They'd probably laugh it off like it was just another Wednesday. Your heart is in the right place, and that's all that matters!"

"I…" Iida looked between the two hopeful hedgehogs before lowering his head. The lights above glinted in his glasses as he muttered, "Some rest would help me think this through."

Sonic was going to say something to keep the conversation going, but Silver cut him off. The psychic knew that Iida was asking for an out. They couldn't push him too hard about this, and they really did need their rest after all that had happened.

"Yeah, it is getting really late." Silver glanced over to Todoroki, who had gotten comfortable on the bed beside Iida's. The student was gazing absently at his left hand. "Is it okay with you if we turn off the lights, Todoroki?"

He was slow to look up. "It's fine," he answered, but he wasn't mentally here. He was someplace far away, lost in his thoughts.

Sonic frowned, concerned about him now. "Are you alright, Roki? Wanna talk something out?"

"No." Todoroki laid down in the bed, his back to them. "Iida's right. We should try to get some sleep."

Iida stared at his classmate before doing the same, getting as comfortable as he could in his current state.

Sonic reluctantly conceded, motioning for Silver to take care of the lights. He strolled over to his too firm mattress as darkness filled the room.

"Goodnight," he said.

Silver was the only one to say it back.

* * *

The train ride back home was awkward, to say the least.

Sonic sighed as he slumped in his seat, upset that he couldn't just run back and avoid this long and boring ride. And it didn't make it better that Aizawa had claimed the seat between him and Silver, being a wall that halted any conversation.

Normally, Sonic would chip at that wall with no problem, but the cold anger he's had ever since he showed up at the hospital gave Sonic second thoughts.

Upon his early arrival, teacher had said, "We're leaving," and hadn't spoken a word since.

Sonic had wanted to see if Midoriya was okay, or at least see Roki and Iida off since they were still sleeping, but, for once, he obeyed.

Currently, Aizawa was sitting with his arms folded across his chest, his heated stare trained on the empty air in front of him. He was acting like the two hedgehogs weren't there.

Sonic tapped his foot on the floor, slumping more into his seat. They had thirty minutes to go, and it was pure torture. Silver was lucky enough to get the window seat, so he had _something_ to keep him busy.

Well, Sonic guessed that he could think more about the Metal situation but…there was no point. That bucket of bolts was with the League of Villains, and no one knew where they were. And to make everything worse, he was with the warp villain who could possibly put anyone anywhere anytime he wanted.

Sonic hoped that he could some up with some kind of plan before another person got seriously injured, one more innocent than Stain.

He was startled out of his thoughts by multiple vibrations in his pocket. He grabbed his phone and was surprised to see that Shinso was calling him.

Sonic answered it. "Hey-"

" _You're on the news."_

He paused at the abrupt statement, but he should've expected it. Considering that Stain had died and a new villain had popped up, the news would surely be all over that. "Yeah, I don't doubt it. Last night was…rough. What are they saying?"

" _Nothing much. They're just showing footage of you and Silver fighting those monsters."_ Sonic cracked a smile, that being fun while it lasted. _"But earlier they were talking about Stain and your classmates."_ The smile fell. _"They didn't go into detail other than the hero killer was dead and the others got seriously hurt fighting him."_

There was a pause, and Sonic figured that Shinso wanted him to explain. "I wasn't there during the rumble, but…Midoriya got the worst of it. Roki and Iida had their arms messed up, but Deku might be recoverin' for a bit."

" _At least all of them made it out alive. What about you and Silver?"_

"Didn't know you cared so much!" Sonic teased, and he could feel the eye roll on the other side. "We're alright, though. Not a scratch on us."

" _Good. I'm assuming that you didn't run into your robotic doppelganger."_

Of course the news would spread stuff about Metal too. Sonic wondered why his other classmates hadn't contacted him, but he realized that they were probably busy with their internships. "Nah, the thing was gone when we got there."

" _Want to explain what in the hell it is, by the way?"_

"It's…a long story." Sonic was pretty sure that it wasn't the smartest idea to tell that made-up tale on public transit. He was already getting enough lingering stares as is. "I'll fill you in when we see you."

"Which is tomorrow at noon."

Sonic blinked over at Aizawa when he spoke, his tone still chilled. He was going to have to get over them running to help eventually. Aizawa didn't seem to have enough energy to hold grudges for long.

"Which is tomorrow at noon, the grump says," Sonic repeated it for Shinso, seeing the teacher's brow twitch in agitation.

" _You just love pressing his buttons, don't you?"_

"It's a talent."

Shinso snorted before hanging up.

"Why can't you be more like Silver?" Aizawa grunted out.

Sonic leaned forward to get a good look at his friend. Silver was slumped against the window, sleeping. He scoffed. "Unless Midnight makes a surprise appearance, you're outta luck."

Aizawa didn't respond.

When they finally got off the train, it was obvious that everyone and their mother watched the news that morning.

Silver cut his yawn short as they joined the crowd at the station. There were shocked whispers everywhere, just as many curious eyes focused on him and Sonic.

"Looks like we're getting famous around here," Sonic said to him, and his waking brain pieced together that the Hosu incident became public.

Silver began to bashfully wave, not knowing if their 'unlawful' actions would be completely accepted.

And he wouldn't get to, for Aizawa grabbed his attention when he said, "Go on to my apartment. The door's unlocked."

Silver frowned in confusion. "Really?" They vaguely knew the way because they followed the train tracks to Hosu, but he thought that Aizawa would want them to stay by his side.

Sonic put a hand on his hip. "Oh, so now you don't care about us running off without supervision?"

Aizawa breathed harshly out of his nose. "You need to be out of the public eye until all of this calms down, and plus, your stomach has been making whale calls the latter half of the ride. You would have left me behind eventually."

Silver was a little famished himself, but he hadn't been going to fly off. However, by the look on Sonic's face, he could tell that the speedster had at least thought about it and probably would've asked Silver to try to unlock the door with his powers.

Sonic patted his stomach. "Or, how about we stop somewhere to get break-"

"No."

Silver gave Sonic a pointed look. "You should've seen that one coming." He took a step away from Aizawa, gesturing his friend to follow. "Let's just go. Mr. Aizawa's cereal is still pretty good."

"Nowhere as good as pancakes and eggs," Sonic huffed before running off anyway with Silver at his side.

Once they were outside the station, after weaving through curious crowds, Silver wrapped Sonic up in his powers and took to the skies to be away from those eyes.

With Silver's own hunger pushing his speed, they returned to the apartment in record time.

Sonic twisted the doorknob and easily pushed the door open. "Huh. Guess he had been really in a rush to fetch us."

"That, and probably too mad to remember to lock up after himself." Silver frowned as he walked inside. "Hopefully nothing got stolen."

"I doubt it," Sonic said, closing the door. "Pretty sure everyone's been too busy glued to the news to do anything else."

"Yeah…" Silver's frown depended at the reminder of the events yesterday, the image of Metal Sonic flashing in his mind. He was out there, somewhere, and they couldn't do a thing about it. They needed a solution to pop in out of nowhere. "This is a mess."

"You can say that again."

Both Silver and Sonic froze at the third voice, and they would've been on the attack if it hadn't sounded vaguely familiar.

Silver took a guess. "Ms…Midnight?" The hedgehogs looked on in surprise when the dark-haired woman sauntered into the living room from the kitchen, dressed in her hero costume. Silver was never going to get used to the sight of her. "Um…What are you doing here?"

Midnight smiled, stretching her hands over her head and Silver wanted to throw a coat over her or _something._ "Nothing too important." She shifted her weight, putting a hand on her hip. "I was in the area when Aizawa asked me to apartment-sit for a while. Looks like my job here is done."

Sonic arched a brow when she moved passed them, aiming for the door. "I thought you'd be mad at us like Mr. Grump for going to Hosu alone."

Midnight paused at the exit, facing him. "He's got it all covered for me, really. My anger isn't needed." A grin adorned her face. "You know what is, though?"

Silver tilted his head. "What?"

"My quirk for punishing rowdy students!" she yelled, ripping off the sleeves of her costume. The hedgehogs didn't have time to react before pink gas was blown in their faces, filling their lungs.

Sonic's eyelids were impossibly heavy, and Silver was having trouble staying on his feet. The speedster slowly blinked at the teacher as Silver collapsed beside him. He lifted a lethargic finger to point at her. "Now, that's…playing dirty."

Midnight stifled an amused snort when he joined Silver on the ground, out for the count. She let her quirk saturate the area for another minute before cutting it off.

She strolled back into the kitchen as the pink haze steadily faded away, aiming for a bag on the table. Midnight pulled out two ankle monitors, making sure the extra deterrent was active inside.

Nodding to herself, she made her way to the sleeping hedgehogs.

Now, she believed that house arrest was a smidge too cruel, especially for someone with Sonic's quirk and energy level, but the chief and Nezu had agreed on this. The punishment had to fit the crime.

It was only until the internship week ended, so hopefully this apartment would still be intact by then.

When Aizawa walked in the front door, Midnight had gotten comfortable on the couch after going to retrieve Mittens from the bathroom. The cat was asleep in her lap as she petted him.

Sonic and Silver hadn't moved from the floor.

Aizawa stared at them, thinking about the mess he had gotten himself into, before closing the door behind him.

"You know that they are going to drive you crazy, right?" Midnight said, not bothering to hide her slight amusement.

"Not if I leave," Aizawa grunted as he stepped over the downed hedgehogs, his attention drawn to their ankle bracelets.

She snorted and gently laid Mittens on the cushion to the left of her. She stood. "So, what do you think of them now that it's obvious they're not part of the League of Villains?"

Awake now, Mittens meowed and went to nuzzle Aizawa's legs. The teacher crossed his arms after a moment, uttering, "I'm not sure." Unless they were playing some kind of long game that didn't make any sense, the hedgehogs surely weren't villainous in any shape or form.

Besides running off, but that was more teenage stubbornness than villainy.

That begged the question, though: what, or rather _who_ , were they then?

They weren't actually brothers because that was the cover-up story, and there was no reason to lie about that. There was no way that their original story was true, however. Coming from another dimension? That was utter nonsense.

And the appearance of that robotic doppelganger made knowing the truth much more urgent.

"Well." Midnight patted him on the shoulder. "I wish you luck with them. You'll need it." She gestured to the back of the apartment. "You should take a nap before things get rowdy. I gave them enough of a dose to be out for a couple more hours."

Aizawa had been moving out of the living room before she finished. "Lock the door on the way out."

Hopefully this didn't turn into a punishment for him as well.

* * *

" _The Hero Killer: Stain was found dead after Hosu attack last night-"_

" _Monsters similar to the one who attacked the USJ-"_

" _-the League of Villains were certainly behind this-"_

" _A new threat, a robot, had killed Stain. Is it part of the League of Villains? Why does it have similarities to a student at U.A. High? The police chief has yet to-"_

" _If this robot is part of the League of Villains, then there might be trouble-"_

Shigaraki widely grinned as voices carried from the television at the end of the bar. His eyes crinkled when he read the headline of today's newspaper.

_**With them being the probable cause for the Hero Killer's death, the League of Villains are becoming a bigger threat than anyone has possibly predicted.** _

Shigaraki cackled and lightly shook the paper at Kurogiri, who was washing a few glasses. "This is it, Kurogiri! The notoriety that we _deserved._ " A couple more low chuckles escaped him, muffled by the hand on his face. "More recruits will soon come rolling in. After all, everyone loves a good power play."

Kurogiri nodded, placing down a cup and grabbing another. "In due time. People need time to think, to absorb the situation."

Shigaraki let the newspaper fall, taping his fingers on the counter. "It won't take long. We just _killed_ the hero killer. Those looking for power and for change will quickly find their way here." He pleasantly hummed. "Then, when we have enough strength and numbers, All Might will be our next victim."

Kurogiri was about to comment, but the pile up of wet dishes to his right distracted him. He turned his attention to the robot in charge of drying. It was staring at the TV, which was showing the blue hedgehog from the sports festival and his unknown accomplice.

Glancing between the screen and their newest member, Kurogiri asked, "Do you know them?" This was the first time the robot saw its doppelganger, if he wasn't mistaken.

"No," it answered after a couple seconds, red eyes following the hedgehogs' movements. "My memory database is no better than it was yesterday."

Kurogiri absently washed the glass. "Fair enough."

Shigaraki glared at the television, hating that one of his Nomus had been taken care of so easily. Of course when they had gained a powerful player, that white rodent had to show up with a cheating quirk.

"Who the hell does he think he is?" He clicked his tongue in agitation. "Making my Nomu look like nothing but a toy?"

The robot went back to work after a commercial aired, drying each cup with a towel. Red eyes met Shigaraki's. "I could kill him, both of them."

"We know you can," Kurogiri cut in before the other had a say. "But not right now. We can't strike blindly. Those two are skilled in their own right, and they have more experienced heroes around them. Doing so now would be foolish."

A series of beeps came from the robot, and call Shigaraki crazy, but they sounded somewhat irritated. He could sympathize.

He began to read the paper again. "Only you can ruin a day as good as this, Kurogiri."

"It was not intentional."

Shigaraki simply scoffed.

* * *

He wanted to set everything around him on fire, watch it all burn down in a fiery blaze.

He held back because doing so in broad daylight around many wandering citizens wouldn't be the smartest idea. He had a job to do now and going to jail would put that all in jeopardy.

Blue eyes narrowed as they watched a large screen above, showing the events of the Hosu attack. A group of people were around him observing as well; the fear was palpable in the air.

He understood why. Considering Stain's reputation, him being taken down by another villain would leave most shaken. Terrified of what was next, that they could _be_ next.

Anger was all that he felt, though. Angry that a good cause had been shot down. He'd been a follower of Stain's for so long, and then this happened. Stain wasn't even killed by a hero, oh no, but by villains who collectively shared one brain cell.

Shoving his hands in his pockets, he maneuvered out of the crowd. He had some planning to do.

Having broken through, he debated whether to find peace and quiet or to find a deserving hero to burn to a crisp, but he stopped when someone spoke to him.

"You look angry."

He had half the mind to ignore the words and walk away, but instead, he glanced in askance at the man beside him. "So?"

The stranger's glasses glinted in the sunlight when he shrugged. "Nothing. I just find it peculiar that among all of these scared faces, yours managed to stand out."

He eyed the man. "Like yours?" The stranger didn't looked too bothered by the situation at all.

The man seemed to be observing him as well. After a moment, he spoke again. "I may be wrong here…" He lowered his voice. "However, I have a feeling that something behind the scenes of the attack is making you angry."

He didn't respond, trying to find this guy's angle. The stranger looked nothing like a cop, but anyone could be a pro hero nowadays. That was the problem Stain had been trying to fix.

His silence pushed the other to ask, "Do you know anything about the…League of Villains?"

This was definitely a set-up. "No," he said curtly and went to move, but the man stepped in his way. Broad daylight or not, somebody was going to end up as a pile of ash if the other didn't get out of his path.

"What if I told you that they _stole_ that robot away from me, and I need to get him back."

All thoughts of a horrific homicide were put on hold. He stared at the stranger, who's expression was dead serious, who wasn't affected at all by the attacks and the injuries, who didn't care that his own property was used to take someone's life. Maybe the man wasn't a pro hero after all.

And maybe, just maybe, Dabi could hear this guy out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that the viral video about Stain hadn't been made because he'd been killed off, but he was still pretty 'popular' beforehand. People had a good idea of his intentions, probably not as many, but still.


End file.
